The Two Kyuubi Jinchuriki
by Hussain019
Summary: What if Kushina gave birth to two children, and Minato never had to seal half of the Kyuubi's chakra into himself? AU
1. Chapter 1

The Two Kyuubi Jinchuriki

**A/N: Hi guys, what's up? This is my first fanfic, and I hope you enjoy it! The idea of having two living Kyuubi jinchuriki occurred to me when I found out Minato had the Yin chakra inside him. If a dead person could have it, why not a living person? Anyway, read and review, and, well, that's it.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I had three wishes the first would be for the rights to be given to me.**

**CHAPTER 1**

Two kids raced across Konoha to the Hokage Mansion. The shorter of the two had blonde, spiky hair, blue eyes and a bright orange jumpsuit. The taller had brown hair, blue eyes, and wore black clothes. The feature they had in common were six whisker marks on their cheeks.  
"Race you there, Katsumi niisan!" The shorter shouted.  
Katsumi groaned. "Naruto, we're already racing."  
"Faster!" Naruto said, and ran even faster. "Naruto, sto-"WHAM! Naruto slammed headfirst into the gate to the Hokage Mansion.  
"Owowowow...Katsumi niisan, why didn't you stop me?" Katsumi smirked. "As if anything could stop you." Naruto smiled and jumped to his feet.  
"You're right! Nothing can stop me from becoming Hokage!" Katsumi smiled and said "How about we first convince Lord Hokage to let  
us into the Academy?" Naruto said "You're right! Race you to his room!" "Oh, no."

HOKAGE'S ROOM

Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, stood at his window, looking at the scene in front of the gates. He smiled. "You boys have handled yourselves very well, I must say," he thought. Katsumi and Naruto had the Kyuubi's Yin and Yang chakra sealed inside them had extraordinary chakra control, and was a sensory ninja. He was good enough to detect the ANBU in his room. He relied on speed and deception. Naruto had terrible chakra control, but had greater chakra reserves than Katsumi, although even he had Kage level reserves. Naruto relied on strength and endurance. A formidable team. They had helped each other in training and had gotten good for their age, as they had helped each other develop their respective strengths and weaknesses. Lost in his thoughts, Sarutobi jumped when Naruto shot into the room, shouting "OJI-SAN!" Katsumi was already there. "Lord Hokage, I apologize for my brother's behaviour. He is excited about enrolling in the academy, as am I." Sarutobi laughed. "Katsumi, you don't have to be so formal with me." Katsumi smiled and nodded. He frowned. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. He could feel someone else in the room. Naruto said, "Oji-san, what about it? Can we enrol in the Academy? Please?" Sarutobi frowned and said "Didn't you ask the Academy head?" Katsumi and Naruto just looked at him. Seconds passes. Crickets seemed to chirp, and then Sarutobi sweat dropped. "Right... anyway, you can. I will arrange supplies for you and you may start tomorrow."  
Naruto smiled and bowed. "Thank you Hokage-Sama!" Sarutobi, Katsumi and the ANBU stared at him. "Naruto, are you...OK?"  
Naruto frowned. "Huh, yeah. Why? Anyway, first step to becoming Hokage complete, dattebayo!" Katsumi said "Yeah... anyway, thank you Lord Hokage!"  
They walked out, as Sarutobi thought "Minato, Kushina, you would be proud."

NEXT DAY, AT THE NINJA ACADEMY  
Naruto charged into the classroom, shouting "First day at the Academy, dattebayo!" A pink haired girl screeched "Shut up Naruto-baka! What are you even doing here?!" Katsumi glared at the girl "I would suggest that you keep that mouth of yours shut, Sakura. I'm surprised the Academy allows banshees to study here." Naruto said to her "Niisan was right. You are an annoying, and unappealing girl. I don't know WHAT I saw in you."  
At that moment, the instructor walked in. "Alright, class, settle down. I am Iruka, and I will be your teacher in the Academy."  
No one listened. Iruka's head grew to thrice the original size. The head bellowed "CLASS, SETLLE DOWN!" Everyone hurried to their seats, the fear of being eaten by the giant head spurring them on. "Good. Now, let's begin."

LATER THAT DAY  
Naruto sighed and stretched himself. "Boy that was a long day. Iruka sensei is a good teacher." Katsumi meanwhile looked to be deep in thought. "Niisan?"  
Katsumi murmured "I must learn how to grow my head..." Naruto sweat dropped. "Uh, Ok..." Katsumi snapped out of it. "Oh, sorry. Let's go home bro."

**A/N: Well, that's it for now. Read and review, and tell me if the chapter's length wasn't to your liking. Any suggestions regarding mistakes I made will be appreciated. I plan to update on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, or at least once per week. Leaving an idea for pairings in your reviews would be nice as well. No NaruSaku at all. Just thought I'd say that. Until next time, then.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry this took so long. The internet had been shut down for some reason. Anyway, this chapter will be the first timeskip, to the academy graduation exam, where everyone is eleven years old. I realised that the last chapter was quite short, so I decided to make all the new chapters longer. So, read and review, and enjoy.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Sakura would have been nickname banshee in the pre shippuden, not forehead.**

Chapter 2

Timeskip: Four years

"Alright, class, settle down, and prepare for your graduation exam." Iruka said as he walked into the class. "Yo, Shikamaru, we're not going to have a written exam, are we?" Naruto whispered to a pineapple-haired boy sitting next to him. Shikamaru groaned "I hope not, that would such a drag." Katsumi snorted. "Sure it would. I bet even Naruto would write more than you would." A fat kid on Katsumi's right laughed. "You got that right, Kat." Naruto groaned. "Not you too, Choji." Iruka spoke from the front "Each of you will be called by name to the front, and you will have to correctly perform the Henge (Transformation) Jutsu and the Bunshin (Clone) Jutsu. Katsumi cocked an eyebrow. "That's it?"  
Iruka replied "Academy graduation isn't like a ninja promotion exam." "Still, that's not exactly difficult" Katsumi frowned, then remembered that neither he nor Naruto could pull off the Bunshin Jutsu. "Oh no, I forgot we can't do Bunshin." A boy with spiky black hair snorted at this. "Loser." "Whatever Sasuke-teme." Katsumi said. He really didn't want to waste time arguing with the emo king right now.

Everyone pulled off both the jutsu perfectly, except Katsumi and Naruto. Katsumi formed two slightly deformed clones, whereas Naruto could only make one monstrosity. The passing limit was three. The other invigilator, Mizuki, said "Look, Iruka, they did make something, we could let them pass." "No, we can't. Rules are rules." Iruka replied. Katsumi and Naruto sighed, as they left the classroom and went home, while everyone else cheered in the classroom.

"Man, I thought at least Iruka sensei would pass us," Naruto grumbled, later that night. He had spent the day brooding, while Katsumi had remained deep in thought, thinking about the reason for their huge chakra reserves and respective unusual skills. "Hm? Oh, yeah. I had hoped so too." Naruto looked at Katsumi. "He could have let you pass; at least you made two worthwhile clones." Katsumi smirked, "I'm not passing while you're still in school, kid." "Thanks niisan." Naruto smiled slightly. Katsumi frowned. "Anyway, let's go for a walk."

After walking around for ten minutes, Naruto and Katsumi bumped into Mizuki. "Oh, hi, you two. I was just looking for you." Katsumi frowned. "Really? Why?" "Well you see, we have an alternate method of graduating the Academy." "Really? Why have I never heard of it?" Katsumi asked. "Because this method is only reserved for those pupils who show great potential, such as you two." Katsumi thought "Something's fishy. I'll play along for now." Naruto meanwhile, was jumping with joy. "YES, DATTEBAYO! TELLMETELLMETELLME…" "Calm down Naruto! It's quite simple actually. You have to go the Hokage Mansion. Once you get there…"

At the Hokage Mansion

Sarutobi was sitting dozing at his seat. Suddenly the door flew open. "Naruto, what are you doing here?" "Sorry Ojisan. Oiroke no Jutsu!" As Sarutobi passed into blissful unconsciousness, his nose bleeding profusely, as well as the ANBU in the room, Katsumi slipped into the Jutsu vault, and nabbed the scroll Mizuki had told him to get. "This is a kinjutsu scroll!" He thought with alarm. He went back outside after looking at one jutsu and memorizing it. "Thank Kami for photographic memory"."Naruto, take the scroll and go meet Mizuki. I'll follow you after I tend to something." "OK, niisan. See ya!" Naruto sped off. "I need to go get Iruka sensei!" Katsumi thought, as he too sped off.

Naruto waited in the clearing in the training ground. After sitting there for some time, he decided to take a look at the scroll. One jutsu, the Kage-Bunshin, caught his eye, particularly as it stated explicitly "Only people with high chakra reserves should learn this." After ten minutes, he could pull off the jutsu easily. Soon, Mizuki entered the clearing. "Ah, Naruto, there you are. Where is Katsumi?" "He said he had something to do, and would come back later. We graduate right?" Mizuki smiled and took at a kunai. "No." "What are you doing, Mizuki-sensei?" "Your brother has more sense than you, choosing to go and find someone to help. Too bad he will be too late." Mizuki charged at Naruto and slashed at him with the Kunai.

Meanwhile, Katsumi had run off to find Iruka. He found him sitting in Ichiraku Ramen Stand. "Iruka sensei! You need to come with me right now!" "What's wrong Katsumi?" "Mizuki has gone rogue!" "That is not a good joke Katsumi" "It's not a joke, dattebayo! He told me and Naruto that we would graduate if we went and got a scroll from Hokage-sama's vault! When I looked at it, it was a kinjutsu scroll!" Iruka jumped and said "Where is Naruto?" "I told him to go on ahead…" "WHAT?! We have to get to him NOW!" "He is waiting in Training Ground 8! I'm coming too!" "Fine, but hurry up."

As they ran towards the training ground, Iruka asked "Did you look at the scroll?" "Yeah," Katsumi said a little guiltily. "Did you learn anything?" Katsumi said" Yeah, a Genjutsu." "Genjutsu? Why?" " I like Genjutsu. I prefer learning Genjutsu Taijutsu to Ninjutsu. Taijutsu is something I'll have to learn anyway." "Really? Interesting." Iruka said, thinking about talking to the Hokage about getting Kurenai assigned as Naruto and Katsumi's jonin sensei.

They reached the clearing just as Naruto managed to dodge a kunai slash from Mizuki. Katsumi started forming hand signs and said "Distract him, Iruka sensei. I hope what I'm going to do works." Iruka ran into the clearing and said "Mizuki, why are you doing this." "Lord Orochimaru demanded this scroll, so I will deliver it. Using the brats made it easy, as the old fool trusted them anyway." "Very well. I guess I have no choice but to stop you by force." Mizuki sneered. "Will you be willing to give your life for the Nine-Tails brats?" Naruto suddenly became rigid. "Huh?" Mizuki sneered at him. "That's right, brat. You and your brother both. You two have two halves of the Nine Tails sealed inside you. You are both monsters!"

Suddenly Katsumi's voice spoke. "You know, I really hate people who can't tell the difference between the kunai and the scroll it's sealed into. Genjutsu: Rise of the Dead!" Mizuki suddenly saw himself in a different place. Well, it was the same place, but everywhere he looked was ruined. "Bah, what a lame Genjutsu!" Mizuki laughed and formed the ram seal. "Kai!" The world wavered but then became worse. Hands started crawling out of the ground. "Huh? KAI!" Nothing. Bloody, mutilated corpses started rising from the ground. "KAI!" They started walking towards him, hands reaching for him, tearing into him, ripping him apart. Mizuki screamed in agony, stuck in the multi layered Genjutsu, while Iruka tried to shake Naruto out of his stupor. "Come on, Naruto! People like him consider you a monster because they fear what they don't understand! People are still willing to be friends with you, to fight for you! Your brother needs help, he can't keep this up long! DAMN IT NARUTO!"

Suddenly Mizuki stopped screaming. Katsumi fell out of a nearby tree, gasping for breath. Mizuki was also gasping for breath, but he recovered. "Huh, that was pretty good brat. You need chakra levels like those of the monster that you are to cast and keep up a Genjutsu of that level. I need to dispose of both of you right now. You must not interfere in Orochimaru-sama's plan." He charged at Katsumi, but then he heard a shout. "Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" Hundreds of Naruto clones filled the clearing. Mizuki stopped, suddenly looking afraid. He had wasted a lot of his chakra trying to break out of Katsumi's Genjutsu. "Your gonna pay for using us, dattebayo! LET'S TAKE HIM OUT!" The Naruto clones charge upon Mizuki, who was too tired to fight off all of the clones. As Mizuki fell to the ground, unconscious and bleeding, dozens of ANBU members arrived on the scene, Sarutobi with them. "What is the meaning of this, Naruto and Katsumi?!" Iruka spoke up. "I will explain, Hokage-sama."

Iruka explained the situation to the Hokage, who ordered the ANBU to arrest Mizuki, and then walked back to the tower to handle the paperwork. Katsumi recovered soon after Naruto defeated Mizuki. Before the Hokage left, he said "You know, both of you showed amazing skills today. Your teamwork will turn out to be amazing on the squad you are assigned. Katsumi, you weakened Mizuki with that Genjutsu, and Naruto you finished him off. I think taking down Mizuki is good enough to graduate, wouldn't you say, Iruka?" "I agree, Hokage-sama." Sarutobi smiled and handed two Konoha headbands to Naruto and Katsumi. "Congratulations, you two, you are now Genin." He walked off. Naruto turned to Iruka. "Was what Mizuki said true?" "Yes, it is. I'm sorry we didn't tell you Naruto." "You clearly had a reason not to tell me. And you already knew didn't you niisan?" "Yeah, I found out a year ago. But that's another story. Let's go celebrate!" Iruka smiled. "Ichiraku is on me!"

**A/N: Well, that turned out longer than I had anticipated. The fight scene was short, but in my opinion Mizuki couldn't be taken out just by running around and then getting beaten up by clones. I mean, come on, he made chunin SOMEHOW. So, yeah, **Katsumi** will focus on Genjutsu and Naruto on Ninjutsu. PM me if you had something different in mind. As before, ideas on pairing would be appreciated, because I have no idea who to pair the two up with. Also, tell me if Sasuke should remain emo, or if I should make him normal. Until next time, see ya!**


	3. Notification

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry but this isn't a chapter update. I'm just addressing a review that I got, which pointed out some uncleared problems about the story. Gebdrogen, your review acted was quite comprehensive and I appreciate it. Firstly, before writing this story, I searched for stories involving twin Uzumaki children and I didn't find any having the same plot I use, i.e, giving the other kid the Yin chakra. The ones I found involved two Kyuubi attacking the village. If my parameters were incorrect, perhaps you can post a link to such a story. If there are such stories, they may be short or abandoned stories. I'm planning to make this at least 50k+, to set it out a bit. The other errors I have corrected, so I hope you think that the story is more believable this time. I changed Zyron's name to Katsumi (Self Controlled). Finally, I've read many fics, such as Contract of the Shinigami, which describe Sasuke as emo, so if you have a better definition, it would be appreciated. Anyway, any ideas on who the third teammate on Naruto's sqiad should be are needed. Plz give me an idea by , Katsumi's age is THIRETEEN. Just thought I'd change the age. I'm out!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys, what's up? As promised, updating on a weekend. Now, I addressed most of the problems that gendrogen pointed out, but some I didn't change. Firstly, Naruto and Katsumi could use chakra from a young age mainly because of Kyuubi's influence. If Kyuubi can accelerate healing, heal fatal injuries, and increase strength etc. upon usage of its chakra, clearly chakra coils can be fully developed at an earlier age. Secondly, Sakura was highly annoying initially. The only way she got better was after Sasuke left. She clearly needs sense beaten into her, which is the reason moderate bashing may take place. Finally, Naruto and Katsumi will be on Team 8, along with Ino, as in my opinion, she has more potential than Sakura or Tenten, and having two potential superninja and a poison expert on the squad would help team 8 be better than in the anime/manga. Kiba will replace Naruto as the close range expert in Team 7. Hopefully no-one goes ape on me for this. Also, this being an AU, my characters will act differently from canon. Hinata will take Ino's place with team Asuma. Anyway, read and review!**

Chapter 3

"Hey, niisan, we need to celebrate our graduation our own way, right?" "Hm? What do you mean?" "Hehehe, follow me to the Hokage Monument." "Huh, why? Wait, Naruto!" Too late. Naruto was already charging across Konoha towards the Monument. "Naruto, we're going to get in deep trouble if this keeps up." Katsumi sighed and took another route to the Monument.

At The Hokage Monument

Naruto huffed as he reached the Monument. "Well, took you long enough." Katsumi said from his perch atop the Yondaime's nose. "Huh? How did you... never mind. Just do me a favour and keep a lookout for any chakra signatures coming our way." Katsumi had trained his sensor abilities with Sarutobi's help. He was good at it by now. "What are you planning, kid?" "Niisan, it's something that will help the whole town liven up. Just trust me on this one, okay?" "I don't know..." Naruto made a puppy face "Please, Katsumi niisan?" Katsumi sighed. "Fine kid. But if you do something stupid..." Naruto was already running to the top of the monument. "Fine, whatever." He turned and looked over the village.

After a few minutes, he felt chakra presences move towards them at high speed. "Huh? Who could that be? Hey, Naruto..." he said while turning around, then stopped short. "WHAT THE HELL NARUTO?!" The Hokage Monument was _covered _with confetti, and all the faces were looking like clowns. "Hehehe, you like it niisan?" "NARUTO ARE YOU CRAZY?! THOSE CHAKRA SIGNATURES I FELT ARE PROBABLY ANBU HEADING RIGHT FOR US!" Naruto paled. "RUN NIISAN!" They leapt down the Monument, Katsumi sensing the chakra signatures drawing closer. "Faster, Naruto!" Katsumi burst off, followed by Naruto.

Konoha Main Street

People bustled about, busy with shopping, eating and chatting. Suddenly, screaming was heard in the distance. Then suddenly two figures, one black and one blue (**A/N: Yes, Naruto now wears different clothes. Blue isn't fixed, though.) **shot through the street, screaming at each other to run faster.

A few minutes later

Naruto and Katsumi collapsed in Training Ground 8. "Hehehe, we lost them, niisan. We outran ANBU, dattebayo!" "Naruto, we are going to have a nice, long..." "There you are!" Iruka's voice shouted. Naruto whirled around while Katsumi just waved a hand in the direction of Iruka's voice. "Yo, sensei. We *cough* were just looking for you." Katsumi said. "No, you weren't." "Yes, we..." Naruto began. "NO, YOU WEREN'T!" Iruka's giant head shouted. "Meep" Naruto whimpered. "What do you want, sensei?" Katsumi asked. "You are being assigned to your squads now. Follow me to Training Ground 7."  
"Finally, dattebayo!" Naruto explained. Katsumi sighed. "Go on ahead, I'll catch up." Iruka face palmed. "Fine, you lazy kid." They headed off to the training ground. After a few minutes, Katsumi got up and went to the training ground as well. He could hear the villager's shocked cries upon seeing the Hokage Monument, and snickered.

Training Ground 7

Katsumi walked into the training ground just as the team divisions started. "So glad you could come, Katsumi." Sasuke said sarcastically.  
"Whatever." Katsumi said. Iruka cleared his throat. "Anyway, the teams will be as follows: Team 7, consists of Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha (Sakura almost swooned and smirked at Ino, who just rolled her eyes) and Kiba Inuzuka. (Sakura groaned in frustration.) Team 10 will consist of..." "Hey, Iruka-sensei, doesn't 8 come after 7?" Iruka sighed. "Team 8 has still not been decided, but will be over the course of the next few seconds." Everyone present sweatdropped. "Okay, fine, I was saving it for last. Anyway, Team 10 consists of Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi and Hinata Hyuuga. Team 9 lost a member, so Shino Aburame will be assigned to them. Finally, Team 8 will consist of Naruto Uzumaki, Katsumi Uzumaki and Ino Yamanaka." "HAH! Take that Ino-pig, I have Sasuke-Kun!" Sakura screeched. Ino rolled her eyes. "Whatever banshee, I got over the brooder a long time ago." Iruka cleared his throat. "Back to the point. Team 7, your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake. Team 8, you will have Kurenai Yuhi. Team 10, you will have Asuma Sarutobi as your sensei. That concludes this meeting. Your team leaders will meet you in their respective training grounds, so team 7, you will stay here. Your sensei may arrive within the next few hours. The rest of you disperse." Sakura looked confused, Sasuke apprehensive and Kiba excited, as the teams dispersed towards their respective training areas."

Training Ground 8

Ino, Naruto and Katsumi walked into the training ground, which looked different. Something seemed to be off about it, and only Naruto didn't notice this. "Hey, where's Kurenai sensei?" Suddenly a voice spoke out, seemingly from everywhere. "Welcome, young genin. My name is Kurenai Yuhi, and I will be your sensei until you become chunin." Katsumi suddenly recognized the genjutsu, and dispelled it. The training ground wavered, and then a slender woman, with long, black hair, and red eyes appeared in the middle of the field. The woman smiled. "You were quick to dispel my genjutsu." Katsumi shrugged. "Eh, what can I say? I enjoy genjutsu." "Really? This could turn out to e interesting. Anyway, let's introduce ourselves. Likes, dislikes, goals, the usual. I'll go first. My name is Kurenai Yuhi. I like genjutsus, flowers, the colour red, and baths. I dislike a certain kunoichi, sadistic people and snakes. My goal is a secret." Naruto spoke up. "All right then. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, training, and hanging around with niisan. I hate the time it takes for ramen to cook, and people who think themselves superior to others because of a bloodline. My goal is to become Hokage, and make everyone in the village acknowledge me." Ino spoke next. "My name is Ino Yamanaka. I like flowers, learning to make different poisons, training, good food, and a certain person. (She shot a glance at Katsumi. Only Kurenai noticed, and she mentally smirked.) I dislike fangirls (Katsumi almost jumped in joy) and arrogant people. I hate fatty foods. My goal is to become an expert in poisons." Katsumi spoke up. "My name is Katsumi Uzumaki. I like food, sleeping, training in genjutsu, hanging around with my kid brother, and the colour black. I dislike working a lot, arrogant people, and those fools who can't tell the difference between a kunai and the scroll it's sealed into. My goal is to become the best genjutsu user in the Land of Fire." Kurenai smiled at this. "Well, this is a good team. So let's move on, to your test." Naruto frowned "Test?"

**A/N: Well, that's it for now. Hopefully the changes I made to the teams won't annoy anyone. So, pairing Ino with Katsumi, is that acceptable? Anyway, review, and message me if you have any suggestions. May update on Sunday, may not. Until next time, then!**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi guys! For some reason, this story isn't really taking off. Maybe it's because people think this is another twin Uzumaki/ Two Kyuubi story. Let me make that clear. The Uzumaki are NOT twins. Katsumi is 13, Naruto is 11. There are NOT two Kyuubi. Read the Manga. There are two halves of chakra. The Yin half which Minato had is now Katsumi's. There AREN'T two Kyuubi.  
Finally, ****Nameanon, this is an AU. I can take ideas from other AU fanfics, not from the manga/anime. It wouldn't be an AU then, would it? Anyway, here's chapter 5.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't have made the Sharingan so hyped up.**

Training Ground 8

"Test?" Naruto frowned. "Didn't we pass the graduation test in the Academy?" Kurenai smiled. "That test was to see if you were capable of becoming genin. This is to see if you can actually become a genin." "There isn't going to be a written test, is there?" Naruto asked hesitantly. "No, there isn't. All you have to do is take these two bells from me." Kurenai said, pulling two bells out of seemingly nowhere. "Come at me with intent to kill." "Wait, there are only two bells, and three of us." Katsumi frowned. "That means only two of you can become genin." Kurenai replied tersely. "There have never been three man squads in the history of Konoha." Countered Katsumi. "Do you want to become a genin, or not?" Before Katsumi could reply, Naruto and Ino charged at Kurenai. "Forget this, niisan, we can talk about this AFTER we get the bells." Naruto said as he ran. "Hurry up Katsumi, there's only two bells." Ino said. Katsumi hit his forehead. "Running straight at a jonin, what a pair of geniuses. And here I thought that the two had some sense in their heads. What do I do?" He thought. Naruto formed a hand seal and formed dozens of clones. Ino started throwing poison coated senbon at Kurenai. Kurenai flicked the poorly thrown senbon away with a kunai, and beat off the Naruto clones. "Poor throwing skills, Ino, and Naruto, you have no real technique." She chided. Naruto formed even more clones. "GET HER!" He shouted. Dozens of clones descended upon Kurenai, but were caught by branches seemingly erupting from the ground. The branches squeezed and the clones vanished in a puff of smoke. "Genjutsu" Katsumi thought, and then dispelled it, using a lot of his chakra, because, well, it was a jonin that cast the technique. He sighed. "I need to learn some close range ninjutsu as well as good taijutsu", he suddenly thought. "Genjutsu isn't going to be enough against tough foes. Now how to handle this?" He sidestepped as Ino and Naruto flew back, Kurenai having easily dispatched them. "Let's talk AFTER we get the bells," Katsumi mimed Naruto's voice. "Swell idea, Naruto, Ino. Let's charge a jonin." Ino glared at him. "Well, why don't YOU do something?" "Because, dear Ino, I have no clue what to do yet. My best attack is a Genjutsu… wait, I have more chakra than Kurenai, so the kinjutsu should work. Distract her, Naruto." "Oh, you're going to use that zombie Genjutsu, right?" "Yeah. I can only keep her in it for a matter of seconds, so you two need to act fast." "Right." Ino and Naruto said. Naruto once again formed dozens of clones, and Ino pulled out even more senbon. Kurenai sighed. "You don't learn, do you?" "The clones charged at Kurenai, who began to fend them off. Purely by chance, a senbon coated with paralyzing poison hit her leg, which began to numb. Kurenai frowned, then pulled out the senbon. Suddenly, the world twisted around her, as Katsumi's Rise of the Dead Genjutsu took effect. Kurenai tried breaking it, but it got stronger and progressed each time she did it, much like what Mizuki had done."Go, you two!" Katsumi panted.

Half a minute later, a sweating Kurenai broke free of Katsumi's Genjutsu. "Damn, the kid knows his stuff." She thought. Then she realized that she did not possess the bells. Naruto and Ino stood beside a panting Katsumi, victoriously holding the bells. "Good job, guys." Katsumi said. "Hehehe, piece of cake." Naruto said. "That was awesome, Katsumi!" Ino exclaimed. "You held a Genjutsu master for 30 seconds, and we're yet to officially become genin!" Katsumi smirked. "So, sensei, passing us yet? You know as well as I do that three man squads do not exist." Kurenai sighed and smiled. "You got me. All of you pass. Naruto, Ino, you NEED to learn to control your brash nature. Katsumi, you're lazy, but far more mature than these two. Your teamwork, however, was amazing, and you took the bells from me quite easily once the Genjutsu was in place." All three jumped with joy. "Say, Katsumi, what was that Genjutsu? Can you show me? " Ino asked. Naruto, Kurenai and Katsumi shuddered. "Two things. One, that Genjutsu is NOT one to be used on kids. It's too damn scary. Two, only I can use it, so there's no point in showing it to anyone. Too risky. Using it correctly requires the user to have high chakra control, and greater chakra reserves than the target." Ino bristled. "I'm not a kid. I'm only a year and a half younger than you." "Still younger." "But not a kid." "Anyone smaller than me is considered a kid by me." The two continued bickering. Kurenai sighed. "This is going to be amazing, I can tell."

A few months later

Team 8 had rapidly become the best genin team in Konoha. The teamwork was flawless, and each member had abilities that complemented each others. The three genin had become quite good at Taijutsu, and Ino had developed her projectile skills well. However, these skills were only gained by sparring against other genin, and being trained by Kurenai, and had yet to be tested in a proper mission.

The team had just completed yet another D-Rank mission, and Naruto and Ino were highly annoyed with catching cats and cutting down trees. Even Katsumi, who was normally very calm, was visibly irked when catching Tora the cat for the 37th time.

"Man, this is getting annoying." Naruto groaned. "I pretty sure ninjas aren't supposed to catch cats and cut trees." Ino sighed. "Alright, Naruto, Ino-chan, we're at the tower, let's grumble afterwards."  
Naruto suddenly brightened. "Hey, maybe we can complain to oji-san about this! Demand a new mission!" He ran towards the tower, Kurenai failing to stop him. "Well, Katsumi-kun, here we go again. Naruto-kun can't do anything right other than on missions." "Cheer up Ino-chan, at least he doesn't wear orange." Kurenai laughed. "Yeah, thank Kami for that. You could see him for miles when he was in the Academy." "OJI-SAN!" Naruto's voice came from the Hokage's room. "Let's hurry up before he gets himself kicked out." Kurenai said.

In the Hokage's Room

Naruto lay in a corner, a sheet stuffed into his mouth, his hands tied. The rest of team 8 sweatdropped upon seeing this. "So, um….Team 8 reporting, Hokage-sama." Kurenai said. Ino spoke up. "Hokage-sama, we are here to request that you give us a mission above D-rank." Iruka suddenly spoke up from somewhere behind the stacks of paper on Sarutobi's desk. "Teams have no right to take missions of their own accord. You will do whatever mission Hokage-sama assigns you." Katsumi sighed. "You have a point, Iruka-sensei. But we ARE the best genin team, and we have been doing D-ranks for several months now. I'm pretty sure that we are ready to handle a C-rank mission." Iruka was about to speak, but Sarutobi spoke first. "Kurenai, what are your thoughts on this?" Kurenai thought for a moment, and then said. "Hokage-sama, I believe that my team is fully capable of handling a C-rank." Sarutobi sighed. Very well, then. We have one C-rank mission available. An escort mission to the Land of Waves." He pulled out a scroll and tossed it to Kurenai. "The mission details are in there. Your client will be up here any second." Ino frowned. "Huh? This fa…" The door slammed open and grey haired, bespectacled man entered, clearly drunk and holding a bottle of sake. "Huh? This is my escort? Three kids (Naruto had somehow freed himself and was restoring blood supply to his hands) and a lovely woman? I'll enjoy the company of the woman, that's for sure, but I expected more!" Ino threw a senbon at the bottle of sake, destroying it, Naruto formed four shadow clones and Katsumi made a Genjutsu that made the team appear majestic in front of thee man, who promptly shut up and looked at them in awe. "Rule 1, no drinking on the job." Katsumi said. Sarutobi said "His name is Tazuna, and you are to escort him to the Land of Waves, so he can complete a bridge he is working on." Kurenai sighed. "It's better than nothing, I guess. Come on, team, lets go."

**A/N: Well, that's it for now. Time for the Land of Waves mission. Yipee. Anyway, I know I may be rushing here, but the main story starts in the Shippuden arc, but I couldn't have directly started from there. Too many plotholes would have been present, which I'm addressing in pre-Shippuden. Anyway, read and review. Two poll's are up on my account. If anyone wants to, they can answer them. Until next time. **


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys, how you doing? I've noticed that the story has hundreds of views, but only six reviews. I know the story isn't THAT good yet, but I've seen worse stories with more reviews. It would really help if even one person in every five reviewed, just so that I know the story isn't a total flop, which I'm sure it isn't. Oh, and only one person answered the poll question, so that's also a disappointment. Anyway, Haku will be a girl, as per the vote. Oh, and is anyone is favour of a team 8 member learning kenjutsu? I'm not polling that, just a thought. If you like, you can answer in a review. Anyway, here's the chapter.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Naruto would have been FAR better after his three year training trip.**

Konoha Main Gates

Team 8 waited along with Tazuna at the gates. Well, Ino and Kurenai were waiting at the gates; Katsumi and Naruto were nowhere to be seen. Tazuna sighed. "You people can't even respect mission timings, and I expect you to protect me?" "It's their first time leaving the village, Tazuna-san. They must be preparing." Even Izuno and Kotetsu were nowhere to be seen. "What is going on?" Ino asked, annoyed. Kurenai frowned. "This is taking too long. We should go loo..." Two blurs shot past the three. Ino looked around, confused, and then looked at the Hokage Monument. Like a few months ago, it was once again covered in confetti. She facepalmed. "Kurenai-sensei, you need to talk to them about this." A commotion attracted their attention. Izuno and Kotetsu were running out of the village, chased by a crowd of villagers. "HOW DARE YOU DESECRATE THE FACES OF THE HOKAGE!" The villagers shouted. Izuno and Kotetsu kept running. "It wasn't us!" "LIARS!" Kurenai and Ino sweatdropped. "Right, let's go." Tazuna miserably thought "I'm doomed." "YO KATSUMI-KUN! WAIT UP!" Ino yelled as she ran in the direction Naruto and Katsumi had fled in. Kurenai ran off too. "HEY, SLOW DOWN!" Tazuna shouted.

In the Forests outside Konoha

Naruto and Katsumi stopped running once they were deep in the forest. "Well, *pant*, at least *pant* we made some progress towards Wave." Katsumi managed to say. Suddenly Ino barrelled into Katsumi. They hit the forest ground, Ino lying on top of Katsumi. They saw how close the other's face was, blushed and immediately got up. Naruto looked confused. "Huh? Why are you two red? Is it the heat?" Katsumi facepalmed. "Right. Wave priority number 2, teach my younger brother about humans and their emotions. Way to ruin the mood." He thought sarcastically. Ino recovered. "W-why don't we wait for Kurenai-sensei and Tazuna?" Katsumi frowned. "Whoops. I forgot Tazuna can't run like us."

Two hours later

An annoyed Kurenai and Tazuna walked into the clearing where the three genin were resting. "Can I not count on you to even stay with Tazuna?" Kurenai remarked angrily. "Sorry about that sensei, we were in a hurry." Naruto replied with a nervous smile. "Tazuna-san, you seem quite tired. Should we camp here for the night?" Katsumi asked. "That would be nice." Tazuna panted. "We should reach wave within four days at this rate." Kurenai thought.

The Next Day

Naruto and Ino were the last to wake up. Kurenai immediately dragged them out, told Katsumi to pack and seal the tents, and they were on their way again within the hour. "Aww man, can't we have breakfast?" Naruto whined. "Not now, Naruto. We need to make better time. It would be best if we reached Wave by tomorrow." Tazuna whimpered. "Fatigue is going to kill me if Gato's thugs don't get me first." He thought. Kurenai noticed that Katsumi and Ino were stealing glances at each other. She smiled. "Ah, young love." She thought, knowing that the two were probably oblivious to their true feeling towards each other. As team leader, she had noticed during their D-Rank months that Katsumi and Ino were much closer than Naruto and Ino. Tazuna kept silent most of the way. Naruto excitedly chattered away, about trees, birds, and the berries that he managed to find and eat. Around noon, they rested in a small clearing. Katsumi suddenly sensed something, and leapt to his feet, kunai drawn. "Kurenai-sensei, I sense two chakra signatures in our area." The rest of Team 8 also leapt to their feet. "I don't see anything, Katsumi-kun." Ino frowned. Then Katsumi and Kurenai's gaze fell upon a puddle in a corner of the clearing. "Where did that come from?" Katsumi wondered. Then, he found the answer at the same time as Kurenai. However, it was too late. Two ninjas seemingly erupted from the water, holding a spiked chain between them. They charged straight at Kurenai, who was taken by surprise. No one noticed the hand signs she rapidly made, just before the chain close around her. "KURENAI-SENSEI!" Ino shouted, as Kurenai was ripped apart by the chain. The brothers then made straight for Ino, who was jumped out of the way of the chain, but was kicked out of the air by one of the two. "DON'T TOUCH HER, SCUM!" Katsumi shouted, fury rising as Ino hit the ground hard. With inhuman speed, he charged at the one on the right. The ninja let go of the chain, and turned around to face Katsumi. He was momentarily shocked to see Katsumi's slitted red eyes. Katsumi took full advantage, as he punched the ninja into the air, then jumped after him and kicked him into a tree.

The other ninja shouted "Brother!" He started after Katsumi, but felt a sharp pain in his leg and arms. He looked around. Ino was had senbons in her hands, with a purple tip. "Poison?" the ninja thought in shock. "Damn it, I shouldn't have let my guard down!" He charged at Ino, who smirked, and threw another senbons at him. He dodged, straight into Naruto's path. Naruto's kick hit him hard, (he is physically stronger than Katsumi, remember) and the ninja flew away, slamming into a tree. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto formed three clones that surrounded the dust which signalled where the ninja had fallen. He himself went to guard Tazuna.

Katsumi charged at the ninja who he had kicked into the tree. The ninja charged at him as well, noting that Katsumi's eyes were now normal. He threw a punch at Katsumi, who blocked and kicked at him. The ninja jumped over the kick, and brought his hands down in a two handed smash. Katsumi dodged the blow, and was sent flying by a kick from the ninja. He recovered and immediately stood up. The ninja was charging at him again. Katsumi threw a shuriken at him, then formed a hand sign. The shuriken separated into six. The ninja was shocked. "A genin can do this much?" He thought in shock. Jumping up to avoid the shuriken, he could not dodge Katsumi's two handed blow. He ploughed into the ground, and Katsumi sent a hail of shuriken at him. He turned away just as the sound of shuriken hitting flesh reached his ears, and the man's chakra presence faded. He went off to see how the others were doing.

The remaining ninja got up from the dust, only to be met with a hail of senbon. "Damn it, the poison's taking effect." He thought. He barely managed to avoid the senbon, and was sent into the air by a kick from Naruto's clone. Two more clones jumped into the air, and drop kicked the ninja back to earth. Ino sent senbon flying at the man, and heard a sickening crunch as he landed an the many senbon sticking out of the ground. Katsumi reached them at that point, and immediately went towards Ino. "Are you okay, Ino-chan?" He asked. "Yeah, thanks, Katsumi-kun." Naruto smiled sadly. "We beat them, but Kurenai-sensei..." "Is somewhere in the trees." Katsumi finished. "I sense her familiar chakra." Kurenai walked out of the trees. "Hehehe, you're right Katsumi. As your sensei, I just wanted to evaluate your prowess. As for you Tazuna, you owe us an explanation." Tazuna told them his story (**A/N:I'm too lazy to write the entire thing :P)** and after that, Kurenai turned to her team. "Well, what do you think we should do?" All three shouted "WE CAN'T GO BACK NOW, WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!" She smiled. That's settled then, onwards to Wave!" She said, and the group continued towards Wave.

**A/N: That's all, folks. You were probably expecting Zabuza and Haku to show up, but I have different plans for them. Anyway, please review what you think of the story so far, and also tell me if a team 8 member should learn kenjutsu. Oh, and from now on I will write down the ranks of ninja in the story. See you next update!**

**Ranks:**

**Kurenai Yuhi: A Rank Jonin**

**Demon Brothers: C Rank Missing Nin**

**Katsumi Uzumaki: C Rank Genin**

**Ino Yamanaka: D Rank Genin**

**Naruto Uzumaki: D Rank Genin**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys, how's it going? This chapter is the first where I completely deviate from the canon storyline, and hopefully no-one rages about what I'm going to do here. This chapter should be the longest so far. I'm considering having Katsumi learn kenjutsu, because the idea seems good. I'm really lost as to what I should say in the A/N part... is this even necessary? Anyway, on to the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Neji's father probably wouldn't have died.**

Near Tazuna's village, outskirts of a Forest, in a seemingly abandoned building

"So, the demon brothers were killed by three kids. I have a feeling that I am not getting my money's worth even with you, dear." Said a short, fat man in sunglasses. A fair skinned, blue haired woman sneered at him. "Shut up Gato. You weren't getting your money's worth with the previous two ninja you hired. Clearly the "kids" as you called them are worthwhile ninja, as they defeated the demon brothers. I bet they could easily infiltrate this place, kill your guards and then finish you off. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?" "You dare..." "SHUT UP! You miserable whining pig, I will kill you if you talk to me like that. I will go and deal with the bridge builder myself." The woman snarled.

A few hours later, Outskirts of Forest

"Tazuna-san, how much farther do we have to go?" Naruto asked. "A couple of hours more." "You said that last time." Naruto whined. "Last time was five minutes ago, Naruto." Katsumi said in exasperation. Even the normally calm Kurenai was looking annoyed. "Tazuna-san..." A senbon flew at Naruto and missed his throat by millimetres. "Shut it, Naruto!" Ino yelled frustrated. Katsumi sighed again. "This is too troublesome. Why can't we just lie down and watch the clouds," he thought.

Back in Konoha, Shikamaru sneezed, and a weird feeling passed over him. "Another believer." He murmured. "I'd look for him, but it would be too troublesome." He lay back down to watch clouds.

Katsumi started fiddling with a stick he'd found earlier. "Hey, Katsumi niisan, want to have a stick fight?" Katsumi smirked. "Well, there's nothing else to do, so why not?" Ino smacked her forehead, and Tazuna and Kurenai sweatdropped, as Katsumi calmly waited for Naruto to charge at him. Naruto did exactly that, and Katsumi sidestepped and whacked the stick on the back on Naruto's head. "Never rush blindly at your opponent, otouto." Naruto jumped up and created shadow clones. Katsumi sweatdropped. "Why did I agree to this?" Just as the clones charged at Katsumi, who had dropped into a proper fighting stance, noted by Kurenai, crystals whizzed into the clones, destroying them all. Naruto looked around annoyed. "Oi, whoever that was, come on out." A woman laughed. "Was I interrupting your playtime, little boy?" She walked into the clearing, a petite, beautiful woman with light blue hair and dark eyes. "I find it hard to believe that you brats took down the demon brothers. It was probably just a fluke." Katsumi threw the stick away and grabbed a shuriken, keeping his hand behind his back. Ino reached into her senbon pouch, tense. Kurenai held a kunai at the ready. "Naruto, guard Tazuna." Kurenai said. Naruto nodded and went to Tazuna. He wasn't as dense as before, and knew a threat when he saw one. "Who are you?" Katsumi asked. The woman smiled. "Ah, you know when to stop playtime. You may actually be a ninja. My name is Guren, and I was hired by Tazuna to dispose of the bridge builder, as the previous two let their emotions cloud their judgement." Ino thoughtfully said "From what we've heard of Gato, you don't seem like the kind of person to be working for Gato." A brief emotion flashed in Guren's eyes. Kurenai and Katsumi saw it. Then she laughed. "Little girl, good looking people like me don't necessarily have to be wimps like you. Now stay out of my way, or I will take you all with me to Gato's prison." Katsumi tightened his grip on the shuriken, and threw it at Guren. "Not a chance. Shuriken Shadow clone Jutsu!" Hundreds of shuriken rained down upon Guren. She laughed and said "Crystal Release! Crystal wall!" A wall of gleaming crystal erupted from the ground. The shuriken smashed uselessly against it. "Wow, gaki, you're good for an academy fresh genin." The wall retracted and she immediately felt herself lose control of her body. Ino's voice spoke from Guren. "I have her in my technique." Kurenai started forming hand seals but then Ino sat up in her own body. "She...ejected me." Guren smirked. "You are definitely quite skilled for your age. Be glad that I will not kill you, only take you to Gato. The ones before me would have killed you." She launched a blunt crystal at Ino, hitting her hard on the head and knocking her out. "Ino!" Kurenai shouted. She charged at Guren. Guren calmly dodged her attacks. "You're not a taijutsu user, are you?" She kicked Kurenai back into a tree. Kurenai got back to her feet and formed hand seals. Suddenly she disappeared in a whirl of sakura petals. "Ah, genjutsu." Guren thought. Suddenly she was thrown into the air by branches that appeared under her feet. The branches reached after her and slammed her back onto the ground, then stabbed her. The Genjutsu suddenly disappeared. "Ironic." Guren thought as she coughed up blood. "Your emotions got the best of you. You forget that pain is one of the ways of dispelling Genjutsu. Kurenai frowned and launched shuriken at her. Guren formed another crystal wall and then made different hand seals. She slammed her hand on the ground, and the ground turned into crystals, spreading outwards towards Kurenai.

Kurenai jumped into the air along with Katsumi. Katsumi whispered to Kurenai. "Sensei, I placed a genjutsu around Naruto and Tazuna so that she doesn't see them." "Good job. Let's focus on her." Kurenai and Katsumi landed on tree branches and Guren jumped up at them. "Quite an interesting bloodline you have there." Kurenai remarked. "I know. I can manipulate crystals like they were water." Guren smirked. "Crystal Release: Crystal Blades!" Blades of crystal formed on her hands. "Oh, crap." Katsumi said. "Kurenai-sensei, Genjutsu isn't a very good idea, is it?" Kurenai sighed. "Nope, her chakra control is very good. I'd say she's a high A-Rank ninja." "Enough talk!" Guren shouted as she sliced at Kurenai and Katsumi. They jumped out of the way, but Guren immediately came at them again. "Kami, she's too tough." Katsumi thought. "You're out of your league." Guren said. "Crystal Release: Crystal Senbon!" Thin needle like crystals shot at Katsumi. "NO!" Kurenai yelled, as Katsumi formed shadow clones that were rapidly dispelled. She jumped in front of Katsumi's way, and the senbon hit her. She collapsed without a word. "She's not dead, gaki. I hit her nerve points. She's unconscious. Come along quietly." Katsumi seemed zoned out, as if his mind was elsewhere. Suddenly, she whirled around and kicked aside Naruto, who had charged at her. "Abandoning guard duty, blondie?" Naruto snarled. "I'm going to smash you to a pulp, woman!" Dozens of shadow clones charged Guren. She sighed. "Crystal Release: Crystal senbon!" The needle like crystals destroyed all the clones, and Guren charged through the smoke straight at Naruto. She kicked him, but he ducked under the kick, and hit her with an uppercut, immediately twisting and kicking her in the stomach. Guren skid back a few feet. "You are the close range specialist, I suppose." Guren said. "Crystal Release: Crystal armour!" Her skin seemed to glow as crystal covered her body. Naruto's next punch broke his hand. "ARGH!" He shouted in pain. Guren threw him into the air and drop kicked him to the ground, knocking him out. She went towards Tazuna, dispelling her armour, which took a lot of chakra to use, as she had developed the technique only recently.. "Now, why don't..." She felt a kick slam into her, and was sent flying into a tree. She shook her head, and looked at her attacker. It was the black haired thirteen year old. But his eyes weren't blue. They were red, with slits in them. Guren's eyes widened in shock. "He reminds me of _him._" Katsumi smirked at her. "Even with my...tenant's power, I know I can't beat you. At most I can fight at A-rank ninja level for a few minutes. But I CAN and WILL hurt you!" He rushed at her with inhuman speed. Guren formed her armour but was still sent flying by another punch. She recovered and charged at him, forming the blades on her hands. She slashed at Katsumi, who ducked and swerved. He punched her again, hard, sending her into the air. Jumping on trees to get up at her, he grabbed her leg, and swung her over his head. As the ground neared, he swung with all his strength, and smashed Guren into the ground, crystal armour fading. Suddenly she was lying in a destroyed, barren forest. "Genjutsu." She thought, and tried dispelling it. Soon, hordes of mutilated bodies were ripping her apart, over and over again. She screamed in pain. "DAMN IT! I used too much chakra with the armour, and in trying to dispel this genjutsu. I'm not going to last much longer." Meanwhile, Ino had woken up. She saw what was happening, watched as Guren knocked out Naruto, watched as Katsumi flared with violet chakra (**A/N: Yeah, I though Katsumi's half Kyuubi chakra should be different)** watched as Katsumi and Guren fought, then saw Katsumi use his signature genjutsu on her. Soon enough, Guren fainted, and Katsumi fell to the ground, panting. She first called out to Tazuna to join them, and then pulled a soldier pill from a pouch at her waist. She hurried over to Katsumi and gave it to him. "Thanks, Ino-chan." Katsumi said. He got to his feet. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He formed four clones. "Two of you get Kurenai sensei, and two of you go get otouto. We need to get going before she wakes up." He then looked at Ino. "Are you okay, Ino-chan?" "Yeah, though my head hurts a lot." She almost fell to the ground, but Katsumi caught her and picked her up in his arms. Ino blushed. "Sorry, Ino-chan, we can't afford to rest till we reach Tazuna's house". Katsumi said. "This was too troublesome. If she hadn't wasted chakra with that armour of hers, I could only have held her off long enough for you to escape." Ino smiled slightly. "Baka. You're not going to sacrifice yourself when we're around." Tazuna cleared his throat. "Your clones are here, kid. Let's get a move on." The clones removed the crystal senbon from Kurenai and Naruto, and the group moved on.

Guren woke up a few hours later. "Damn, that kid did a number in me. I used too much chakra in that armour. The woman's genjutsu didn't help either." She looked around. "I should get back to Gato. Explain that the situation has changed."

A few hours later, at Tazuna's house

Tazuna knocked on the door of his house. Ino and Katsumi looked at the bridge. "Pretty bug bridge, isn't it Katsumi-kun?" "Yeah." The sun was setting. It sent a beautiful orange glow across the sky, and the water looked like liquid gold. "It's beautiful." Ino thought. She looked at Katsumi, who happened to look at her at the same moment. "Her eyes are beautiful." Katsumi thought, the two slowly leaning towards each other. "Hey, niisan! Let's go! Door's open!" Naruto appeared out of nowhere. Katsumi and Ino jumped apart, blushing slightly. "Huh, are you two feeling sick?" Naruto asked. "N-never mind, let's go." Katsumi said. Ino sighed. "Sometimes, I hate you Naruto." She thought.

In Tazuna's House

"Tsunami, these are the ninjas that protected me from the ninja that Gato sent after me. Kurenai, Naruto, Katsumi, Ino, this is my daughter Tsunami." Tsunami smiled. "It's nice to meet. I'm very grateful to you for sticking with this mission despite the fact that we did not fund it properly." "No worries." Katsumi said. "Yeah, we're supposed to help people, not hoard money." Ino said. Suddenly everyone's stomach rumbled. "I forgot, we didn't eat anything in the last few hours." Tazuna said. Suddenly a young boy appeared in the doorway. "Who are there people?" "They are the ninja who are protecting me. Guys, this is Inari, Tsunami's son." Inari glared at them. "Why do they bother trying to fight against Gato? They don't know what suffering is. It's useless, they should just leave while..." Katsumi appeared in front of Inari. "We don't know what suffering is? How dare you talk to me and my brother that way. YOU don't know what suffering is you little shit. Naruto glared at Inari. "Suffering is being beaten up by hordes of villagers while we were just kids. Suffering is not having a home and fending for ourselves since the age of five. Suffering is not being allowed into shops to buy food, clothes, or any necessities of life. Suffering is having a villager call you a monster." Katsumi spoke up. "Tazuna told me about Kaiza. If you ask me, you are a disgrace to him by giving up. Go and snivel in your room, kid. People who want to make a difference always try. You're no better than Gato's thugs by giving up, and trying to make other people give up as well." Inari looked shocked. After a moment or two he mumbled an apology and ran upstairs. Tazuna, Tsunami and Ino were shocked as well. The Uzumaki brothers suddenly recovered. "Anyway, what's for dinner? We're starving."

The next day

Team 8 stood in front a lake. "We know that Guren was not killed by Katsumi. As a result, she WILL be back for us sometime soon, probably in a week, if I am correct. Until then, you three are going to be undergoing mire training. I assume you are familiar with tree climbing?" The three nodded. "Right, so now we are going to learn water walking. The idea is the same. However, as water is constantly moving, you will have to constantly adjust your chakra output s that you stay balanced on the water. But before that, I will check your elemental affinity." "What's that?" Naruto asked. "Each ninja has a certain element which he can use. He can perform jutsu of that element, or add that element to non elemental justu to make said jutsu far more potent. I have chakra paper with me. All you have to do is pass your chakra through the paper, and see what happens. Normally, genin aren't given elemental training, but you three are not normal genin. An instructor will be arranged when we get back to Konoha." She handed out a pice of paper to each of the three genin, who then passed their chakra through it. Katsumi paper caught fire and was incinerated, not even ash remained. Naruto's paper was shredded into tiny pices, and Ino's paper creased and shrunk tremendously. Kurenai raised an eyebrow. "Wow. All three of you have an unusually high affinity for your elements. That means that you elemental jutsu will be far more potent than normal. Katsumi, your element is fire, Naruto, yours is wind, and Ino, yours is lightning. Now that that's done, get on with water walking."

**Omake: People Skills, lesson 1**

Naruto and Katsumi were walking along a dusty road near Tazuna's house. An old woman walking along the path in front of them dropped her bag. Katsumi had an idea. "Yo, Naruto, remember when I said I had to teach you people skills? Let's begin with the basics. Go and help that old woman by picking up her stuff." Naruto groaned and moved to help her. "Hey, old lady, I'll help you pick that up." The woman twitched at being addressed like that but thanked Naruto. Katsumi facepalmed. Just as he picked up her stuff, he saw a book with an orange cover. "It can't be! YOU PERVERT!" Naruto jumped and pointed at the old woman. People walking on the streets looked at her, and some began to laugh. Others passed derogatory remarks. The embarrassed woman picked up the remaining stuff and shuffled off, glaring at Naruto. "Huh? Why is ero-baachan mad?" Katsumi appeared behind him and hit him on the head. "Baka! Do NOT call old people perverts in public, and NEVER address a woman depending upon her age." Naruto frowned. "Why?" Katsumi sighed. "I'm going to need Ino-chan's help for this."

**A/N: The word count... is over nine thousand! Anyway, before you ask why in the blue hell Guren was beaten so easily, remember. This is years before shippuden. Guren is not at all as strong as she was then. Here, she just developed her crystal armour jutsu, and new jutsu's always use a lot of chakra. Anyway, I said this before as well, REVIEW. It would be nice to see what people think of the story beyond chapter 3. As to why Katsumi can use Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto's half is a crazed furball of hate and anger. Just like Yin and Yang chakra are opposites, Katsumi and Naruto's Kyuubi halves are also opposite in terms of personality. Q question, what should each genin's secondary element be. Should they have a secondary element? Leave an answer in a review, or PM , see you next update!**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guy, what's up? I was busy with tests and stuff, so I wasn't able to update. Now, I am getting no reviews beyond chapter 3 for some reason. I am still going to update this story, because I want to write it. Hopefully more people will start reviewing. Also, in the story, I will be focusing more on Katsumi. Anyway, here's the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Team 7 would have successfully removed Kakashi's mask.**

**Yo-Bijuu talking  
**_Yo-thoughts  
_Yo-Normal talk

(I'm too lazy to type this again, so readers please remember this.)

Timeskip: One week, Location: Tazuna's House

Kurenai finished her dinner and stood up. "Alright, team, tomorrow we will probably have to face Guren at the bridge. I suggest you all get a good night's sleep, because it's going to be a long day." Katsumi, Ino and Naruto sighed and rose, each heading for their own bed. The week had been hectic for them. Katsumi, however, had a secret that he was looking forward to show everyone.

_Flashback  
Katsumi went to a point far away from Naruto and Ino. Sitting down, he relaxed, and entered his subconscious. "Hello kit." A pair of glowing eyes seemed to say. Katsumi sighed. "Cut the greetings, Kyuubi. I'm in a hurry." Kyuubi laughed. "You are lucky I'm not like my counterpart in your brother's body. He would have tried to eat you had he been spoken to like that. Anyway, time passes differently in here. A day would be equal to half an hour out there." Katsumi sighed. "Well, good. Still, let's get on with it. So, my primary affinity is fire. You know why I'm here." The giant fox moved into the light. Its fur was a violet colour, and its eyes seemed to be purple as well. "Yes, kit, I know. Let's begin your training, shall we?"_

Katsumi smiled as he remembered his training. He had learned basic and advanced elemental manipulation quickly, and the three days afterwards he had learned a lot of fire style jutsus. In the real world, he had learned water walking and tree climbing exercises. Kyuubi claimed that he was probably a high-B- or even low A-rank ninja now. He had helped Ino with lightning manipulation, and Naruto with wind, as the fox had told him what to do. According to the fox, those two were low B rank ninjas. It had been a long week. **"Kit, you do know that that woman is mid A rank. Individually you cannot defeat her, even with my chakra." ** As he went to his room, he frowned. _"Even with the deal we made regarding your chakra?" _**"Yes kit. You better team up with your sensei in order to beat her. Your girlfriend and brother can protect the bridge." **_"Hmm, you may be... HEY WAIT, SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" _Katsumi cut off the mental link between him and Kyuubi, just as Ino came up to him. "Um, Katsumi, good luck for tomorrow." "Thanks Ino, you too." She fidgeted a little, then kissed his cheek and quickly walked off. Katsumi sighed as he blushed and walked to his room. _"Troublesome." _He mentally smiled and thought.

Naruto, meanwhile, formed two shadow clones and had them henge and hide in the kitchen. He could not shake off the feeling that something wasn't right.

The next day, The Bridge

Team Kurenai stood and watched as the bridge workers started putting the final touches on the bridge. Suddenly, smoke filled the area. Team 8 fell into position. "Naruto, Ino, guard Tazuna. Katsumi, with me!" Kurenai ordered, as the smoke cleared. What they saw was something no-one had expected. Guren stood at the head of more than a hundred armed mercenaries. "It would be in your best interest to surrender now." Guren said. No one budged. She smirked. "Very well. Attack, and take prisoners. Kill no one." The mercenaries charged in at Katsumi and Kurenai. Naruto and Ino had taken Tazuna away from the bridge. Katsumi sighed again. "Such a drag. Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" A large fireball shot towards the mercenaries. Lots of them were incinerated in the flames. Kurenai looked at him, shocked. "How did you do that?" "My tenant is a nice demon when you get to know him better. I also know kenjutsu and more genjutsu." Kurenai decided it best not to comment on the situation. She formed hand signs. A group of the mercenaries found themselves caught in the roots of trees. Roots which slowly crept towards their throats. Katsumi also formed hand signs, and another few mercenaries found themselves in a wagon, slowly falling towards a pit of lava.

Guren felt like hitting her head on the ground. "What the hell was Gato thinking when he sent these bastards? Can I never relax?" She charged towards Katsumi. _"He's the younger one, so I should be able to take him out easily."_ Katsumi saw her coming, and swore. _"Damn it. I can't fight her in taijutsu, that's a weak point for me. I need to put her in a genjutsu." _ He formed hand signs as Guren formed blades of crystal on her hands. "Genjutsu: Valley of a dozen wolves!" Guren found herself standing on a rock in a green valley. The rock was jutting out of the valley and below her were a dozen, hungry wolves, all circling the rock. She felt a pan of fear, as a cold wind blew. _"Damn it, how could he be so good in Genjutsu? I can't dispel it, so I'll try this!" _Just as the rock started to crumble, she stabbed her hand with a blade, and dispelled the Genjutsu. Looking around, she saw that the almost all the mercenaries were dead. Katsumi stood in front of her. She smirked and covered her hand with a sheet of crystal. "Not bad, brat. You're quite the little prodigy, aren't you? But I would suggest you look behind you." Katsumi formed a shadow clone behind him. It swore. "Boss, a clone of her has Naruto, Ino and Tazuna! Ino looks pretty bad!" Guren frowned. "I had sent two clones after you. Not bad at all, you defeated one crystal clone and held off this one for an admirable amount of time. I didn't know that you two could also use your respective elements. I suggest you surrender or else I will kill your friends, brat. You also, woman." Katsumi grit his teeth in frustration. "Screw you. We surrender. But I swear to Kami I'll get you for hurting Ino!" "Whatever brat. I'm going to make sure to lock you away deepest of all. You're far more dangerous than anyone else here. I've dealt with your kind before, and I know what you can do when pushed." Katsumi, Kurenai and Naruto's eyes widened. She ordered the remaining mercenaries to round up the ninja and Tazuna, and get back to Gato's building.

At Gato's Main Building

The ninja stood as captives before Gato. The short fat man laughed and said. "You were all fools for challenging me. I will have you all publicly executed, and the bridge builder will be executed after his family. Naruto spat at Gato. "You prick; my clones took care of the bastards that you sent after Inari and Tsunami. The kid is far braver than you." Gato sighed. "Take the men away, and take the women to that special chamber." He whispered to a guard.

Underground Prison Chambers

Katsumi was taken to the deepest part of the prison, along with Naruto. They were locked up in chakra repressing chains. "Don't worry, your friends are going to be taken care of. Gato will see to that." He said lecherously. Katsumi seethed. "When I get out of here, I'm going to come for you, you bastard. You will burn and you will wish that..." The cell door closed. Katsumi waited for a few minutes, and then closed his eyes. _"Kyuubi, chakra, NOW!" _**"On it, kit." **Katsumi swirled with violet chakra and easily ripped off the chains, chakra burning through them. He ripped of Naruto's chains as well. "Nii-san, how can you control that chakra?" "Because your Kyuubi manifestation is a prick who cannot see past his own furry nose and mine is willing to cooperate." Naruto chuckled. "Good way of describing it, nii-san." "Split up, Naruto. You head up and take care of the guards. I need to look around a bit." "Right." Naruto ran off. Katsumi headed up one level, and then stopped at a door that said "Confiscated Weapons". He opened the door, and looked around. One item caught his eye. _"No way, he was really captured. They probably executed him. So he won't need that anymore. I have trained in kenjutsu under Kyuubi, so this should work."_ He picked up the sword, and felt a weird feeling flow through him. Then, the heavy sword became much lighter. **"Impressive, kit. Looks like the sword has chosen you as its new owner. You should be honoured." **Katsumi smirked, as he attached his sword to a holster he had made, hanging it on his back. _"I'm a far cry from being a Genjutsu-only fighter now. I'm better off as a master of all arts."_** "I can assure you that you will enjoy that path as well."**Katsumi ran towards the stairs. "Trust me, Kyuubi, I love it already."

Naruto ran towards the prison entrance, and then stopped when he heard someone cry out. _"It sounds like a girl."_ He thought. He ran towards the source, and came across a cell. Its only occupant was a girl that looked to be Katsumi's age. Naruto's first thought was "_She's beautiful._" He went towards the door, and used one of the two wind style jutsu he knew. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" The door flew open, and he went inside. The girl seemed to be asleep, and looked like she was having a nightmare. Naruto swore to make Gato pay. He broke the chains using the other wind style jutsu he knew. "Wind Style: Wind blades!" He formed shadow clones to pick up the girl, and left the cell. A few guards stood in front of him. Unflinchingly, he sent find blades at them, and they collapsed without a word. Naruto sighed. He didn't like killing. Kurenai had put them in a Genjutsu were they had to kill people. It was done so that they could kill without freezing up, and it worked. He continued towards the top.

Katsumi ran towards Ino's chakra signature. Outside her and Kurenai's cell, a few men were gathered. "Well boys, who wants to go first? I say we draw straws." Katsumi walked up to them, and drew the blade. "How about I draw blood, you bastards?" The blade whistled through the air, and the mercenaries were dead in couple of seconds. Katsumi smirked. "Damn, I love swords." **"Kit, try channelling your fire chakra through the blade, like I taught you too." **The blade seemed to glow red. Katsumi whistled. "Kami, this blade is useful." He slashed through the cell bars, and entered. "Ino and Kurenai were chained to the wall, arms as well as legs. The thought of what those men wanted to do disgusted him. He sheathed the blade on his back, and broke the chains. Ino and Kurenai fell to the floor. He removed their gags, and they got up shakily. Ino ran and hugged Katsumi. "I owe you a lot, Katsumi-kun. Thank you!" Kurenai smiled. "Yeah, Katsumi, thanks. You are starting to look like jonin material." "Ino-chan, can you loosen up a bit?" She let go. "Let's go, guys. We have a pig to kill." After finding Tazuna, they headed to the entrance.

Katsumi and Naruto met up at the prison entrance. "Yo, Naruto, nice to see you found and freed someone. Who is it?" The girl spoke up. "My name is Haku. I was originally hired by Gato to kill the bridge builder. But we refused upon seeing the state of the town. He had Guren imprison us, and executed Zabuza-sama. I have been imprisoned since last month." Suddenly, clapping was heard. "What a touching story, too bad no one else will hear it." Guren walked towards them. Katsumi frowned. Everyone, go and get rid of Gato. Naruto, send shadow clones to get to work on finishing up the bridge. He drew the blade. Haku gasped. "No way... it accepted you?" "Yeah, it did." Kurenai gasped. "The Kubikiribocho...one of the swords of the swordsmen of the mist." "GO!" They all left. Guren formed crystal blades on her hands. "Time to finish a job that has been going on too long." "I agree." The Kubikiribocho started to glow red, and they charged at each other, meeting in a burst of sparks. The blades clashed in showers of sparks, again and again. "What are you? You're no normal boy! You're only fourteen and you fight like an A rank ninja." "I would love to say that I'm a bringer of peace, but that would be beyond corny. Let's just say I'm a jinchuriki who knows how to use his power." Guren back flipped. "Crystal Release: Crystal Senbon Barrage!" Countless crystal needles rained upon Katsumi. "Fire Style: Fire Rain!" Needles of flame cancelled out the crystal attack. Guren found herself in a river of fire, on a boat that was slowly burning away. Guren dispelled the genjutsu, only to see a dragon of fire coming at her. "Crystal Release: Crystal Wall!" The wall burst, but took out the dragon as well. Katsumi charged through the smoke. Guren was slowly tiring, as she used crystal blades to counter Katsumi's Kubikiribocho. Just now she noticed that his eyes were violet and slitted. "No wonder you're beating me. You're using your bijuu's chakra." Katsumi frowned as he backflipped. "Which one have you dealt with?" Guren hissed. "None of your business, brat!" She formed her crystal armour. "I've practiced with this armour. I am quite accomplished with this now. I wonder what will become of that blond girl when I've dealt with you..." "SHUT UP!" Katsumi shouted. He had had enough of this. A cloak formed around him, along with one tail of chakra. He sheathed the Kubikiribocho and formed hand signs. "I'll show you the true power of fire. Fire Style: Demon's Inferno!" A massive fox made of bluish orange fire erupted into being. Guren slowly withdrew her blades. "Crystal Release: Crystal Dragon Jutsu!" The fox and the dragon met. The dragon blew up, and the fox went straight at Guren, shrinking and slamming into her. She screamed in pain, as Katsumi's chakra cloak disappeared. He sank to his knees. The last attack had taken a LOT of his chakra, and he was very low on it now. He staggered to Guren's body. Her crystal armour had taken the brunt of the blow, but the flames had still been enough to damage her a lot. She was still alive, and Katsumi applied chakra restraining seals to her. Kurenai had made sure that each of her team had two of those wherever they went. Forming a shadow clone, Katsumi tied her up, then got the shadow clones to drag her over to where he sensed the others chakra, using some of Kyuubi's chakra to steady himself. He managed to get there, saw Gato tied up, saw the villagers filling the area, and then saw Ino use her only elemental jutsu to kill him. "Lightning style: Lightning ball!" Then he blacked out, never knowing that his fight with Guren had been witnessed by a certain council member who was the head of a thought-to-be-disbanded Konoha ninja faction.

A Few Days Later

Team Kurenai stood on the completed bridge, ready to leave, as the villagers cheered for them. Guren was tied up, and Kurenai had decided to take her to Konoha as a prisoner. Ino stood by Katsumi, watching as Naruto revelled in the cheers of the villagers. Ino sighed as she leaned against Katsumi. "I still can't believe that you managed to beat Guren. You may be stronger than Kurenai-sensei." "I had help, Ino." "Whatever." Kurenai smiled at them. "They don't even notice how close they have become. They just need a little push. I should nominate them for the chunin exams." Ino looked at Katsumi. "You know, all that elemental training you put us through actually worked out in the end. I was afraid that jutsu wouldn't work." Haku, who had decided to join Konoha, after a long lecture by Naruto on not being a tool, stood beside Guren, making sure she wouldn't escape. Inari ran up to Katsumi. "Hey, Katsumi-nii-san, I thought about you offer." Katsumi smiled at him. "And?" "I'll come to Konoha with you. But I want to be taught by you, no one else." Katsumi laughed. "Good to hear that, Inari."

_Flashback  
After freeing the prisoners, and killing Gato, Team Kurenai went back to Tazuna's house. Naruto's clones had finished up on the bridge, and had dispelled. After a rousing reception by the villagers, they went back to Tazuna's house. After securing Guren, they all went to sleep. Next day, Katsumi called Inari aside. "Inari, do you want to be a ninja?" Inari looked up at him. "Huh? For real? But what about Mom and Granddad?" "They will be fine. Gato's dead anyway and the villagers have made a resolve to fight for themselves now. I'm asking you this because you have a lot of potential. I can sense your chakra, and though you haven't been taught how to use it, you have larger than normal reserves. Also, the way you defended you mother shows that you are braver than people think." Inari looked troubled. "If it helps, I'll talk to the Hokage to have me assigned as your teacher. I'm pretty sure I'm going o get a field promotion, and if you do decide to come, I will teach you on the way back to Konoha. Think about it, and then tell me." Inari nodded as Katsumi walked back to his room._

_End Flashback_

Ino smiled. "Well, Katsumi, you're turning out to be a bucket of surprises. Taking up Inari as a student?" Katsumi laughed. "Naruto has Konohomaru as a student, so I can take Inari as mine." He whispered to her "Besides, I think he has a bloodline. Kyuubi told me something's different about him." Ino had taken the news of Katsumi being a jinchuriki very well.

_Flashback  
"Ino, I have something to tell you." "Huh? What is it?" Katsumi told her about the Kyuubi and his early life. The next thing he knew, Ino had thrown her arms around him. "I can't believe those villager would treat a child like that. I'm so sorry Katsumi; I should have been your friend, instead of chasing that stuck up Uchiha." "You're here for me now, Ino, and that's what comforts me the most." _

_End Flashback_

After saying goodbye to Tazuna and Tsunami, Inari gathered his stuff and went to Katsumi. Kurenai had already told Katsumi that she would ask the Hokage to promote him, as he had rescued her, Ino and Tazuna, as well as defeated an A rank ninja and taken her prisoner. She had no objections to Inari joining them, although she knew that the council would blow up over that decision. _"I'll handle that problem when it happens." _She thought. Having said their goodbyes, Team Kurenai, Haku and Inari, along with Guren, began their journey back to Konoha.

**A/N: Well, that's it. I know I'm still rushing, but I want to get to the timeskip as fast as possible. I also know I'm not that good at writing fighting scenes, so I would appreciate help in that field. Katsumi may seem overpowered, but keep in mind he's older than Naruto, and the Kyuubi manifestation in him is far more cooperative than Naruto's manifestation. Yeah, and some of you may be annoyed at the fact that I had Ino and Naruto learn elemental techniques. Anyway, read and ****review****, emphasis on reviewing, and all suggestions are welcome. As a closing question, what do you say about ? Yes or no? Until next time, then. **


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi guys, I'm back with another chapter. I was hoping I would get a review asking how Ino and Naruto learned elemental manipulation in a week, but even that didn't earn me a review :/. I'm happy with the number of favourites and follows, but I was hoping to have around 15 to 20 reviews by now. Anyway, on with the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Jiraiya would have been the Fifth Hokage.**

Location: Konoha Gates

Team Kurenai, along with Guren, Inari and Haku reached the gates. It had been a week and a half since they left the Land of Waves. Katsumi had been rigorously training Inari, who was by now good enough to be a genin. As they walked towards the Hokage's office, Kurenai asked Katsumi "Why didn't you train Inari in the same...well...place that you had Ino and Naruto learn elemental manipulation?" Katsumi replied "Only Naruto and Ino can train there because Naruto and I are linked because of the furballs, and Ino has her mind transfer jutsu. Inari can't go to that place, so I have to train him the old fashioned way." Kurenai looked thoughtful. "He seems to be good enough to be a mid level genin." Katsumi frowned. "Yeah. I think he has received basic training from somewhere before. You think Kaiza was a ninja?" "I don't think so; otherwise Gato would have had a harder time with him." Haku spoke up. "Zabuza gave him basic training, before that woman came and arrested us." She said, referring to Guren.

The rest of the walk continued in silence. Upon reaching the Hokage building, they entered his office. "Team Kurenai reporting, Hokage-sama. The mission was successful, and we have a prisoner. After hearing the details of the missions, Sarutobi leaned back on his chair. "ANBU, take the prisoner to a cell." ANBU leaped out from the shadows and took Guren away. Katsumi fisted pumped the air. "I knew it! There WAS someone else in this room." "Kurenai, I need you to leave for a minute. I must talk to them alone." "Understood, Hokage-sama." She left.

Katsumi, Haku, Naruto, Ino and Inari just looked at the Hokage for a few minutes. He seemed to be deep in thought. Katsumi cleared his throat. "Um, Hokage-sama?" Sarutobi leaned forward in his chair. "Katsumi and Naruto, you have told them about the fox, correct?" Naruto said "Yeah, ojisan, everyone in this room knows about the foxes." "So tell me, Katsumi, how did you train Naruto and Ino so quickly?" "You see, Hokage-sama, when we jinchuriki focus, we can enter our mindscape, the place where the fox's consciousness resides. There, we have control over our body, and can train in chakra related exercises, as chakra is spiritual energy. Everything we learn with regards to chakra in there, we can utilize in the real world. Now, time passes differently in the mindscape. One hour out here is approximately a day in there. So, in seven days, we can train in chakra exercises equal to a few months. Naruto also being a jinchuriki can enter my mindscape when I allow him. Ino, due to her mind transfer jutsu, can also enter my mindscape. First, I had to tell them that it was a time distorting genjutsu *Chuckles* they actually believed that. Anyway, I had them trained in elemental manipulation by Kyuubi. I placed them in a genjutsu to make them think I was teaching them, while I trained in my own fire manipulation. In a week, they were able to use elemental attacks. Ino is lightning, and Naruto is wind." Sarutobi silently whistled. "_This boy is a prodigy. They all are, to be able to learn elemental manipulation in a matter of months. But the Kyuubi...wait!" _"Katsumi, did you just say the KYUUBI taught them?!" "Yeah, I did. The Kyuubi manifestation I possess is quite a reasonable and pleasant demon, whereas Naruto's is the complete opposite. Something to do with the Yin and Yang chakra sealing..." Sarutobi sighed. "_I'm getting too old for this." _"You DO realize that all of you posses the qualifications of chunin, with the exception of Inari?" "Yes, Hokage-sama." Ino spoke up. "So are we getting promoted, Oji-san?" Naruto asked excitedly. "Maybe. But Katsumi can be promoted easily, he already beat an A rank ninja, and saved the lives of his team, client and took an important prisoner. Of course the council..." "Hokage-sama, you are the HOKAGE. Konoha is a NINJA village. As such you are the ONLY authority in the village, with the exception of the clan heads. Those blithering fools on the civilian council have no power over you. I don't understand WHY you take their shit every day!" Katsumi angrily burst out. Haku and Inari looked at him confused. Ino said to them "He and the council have a ...history together. I'm surprised he hasn't attacked any of them yet." Sarutobi sighed again. "You are right, Katsumi. I should reinforce my position. However, field promotions must also go through the council. After hearing of your deeds, the clan heads will vote in your favour. However, the civilians are a different story." Katsumi bristled at the mention of the name. "Tell them our heritage." The room descended into a deathly silence. "Huh? N-niisan, you know who tou-san and kaa-san were?" Sarutobi stood up. "You didn't strike me as the type to use a name to your benefit, Katsumi." "Don't get me wrong, Hokage-sama. My brother deserves a better life. And if the civilian council take one step too far, they WILL burn. I swear it. They have done enough shit as it is. Knowing of our heritage will have a positive effect on those villagers who despise us anyway. Not the mention the civilian council." Katsumi replied, still angry. Sarutobi looked at him with a thoughtful look. "Doing that will earn you many enemies." "Hokage-sama, I'm confident that the five of us can handle anything thrown at us." Ino spoke up. Sarutobi looked shocked. "You told her?" "Yes I did. I trust her completely." Ino blushed a little. Inari noticed it. "Very well. I shall them. I trust that you can take care of the repercussions?" "Yes, Hokage-sama." Sarutobi smiled slightly. _"He's growing up so fast. Protecting your little brother for years helps you mature faster, I guess." _ "Very well, I shall tell them." "DAMN IT, NII-SAN, WHO WERE THEY?!" Naruto burst out, unable to take it any longer. Katsumi sighed. "Our mother was Kushina Uzumaki, one of the last of the great Uzumaki clan. She was a very powerful ninja, and an unrivalled kenjutsu user. Our father..." he looked at Sarutobi. "Go ahead." "Our father...was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, and the last of the Namikaze clan." Naruto looked numb. "H-Huh?" Sarutobi reached into his desk and pulled out a photograph. "This was their last photograph together with Katsumi." He gave it to Naruto. Katsumi spoke up, a tear going down his cheek. "We were...looking forward to having another member of the family." More tears slid down his cheeks. "Kaa-san...she... spent days designing a room for you. I remember, tou-san asked her why she made it orange..." Naruto suddenly started crying. "I...I need to go..." he ran out of the office. "Haku, go after him. H-he needs someone to be with him. I need to discuss things with the Hokage." Haku nodded sadly. "Okay. But before I go, Hokage-sama, I wanted to let you know that I wish to join Konoha's ranks as a shinobi. Kurenai-san can fill you in on what I can do." "Very well then." Haku ran out after Naruto. Ino hugged Katsumi. "It must be all the worse for you, having spent time with them." "Tou-san, he took me and a newly born Naruto when he went to seal the Kyuubi. He told me what he wanted to do. He also told me, that...that kaa-san...was dead." He turned to Sarutobi. "Sorry for that, Hokage-sama. Anyway, I trust you know what I wanted to do with regards to Inari." Sarutobi smiled kindly and turned to Inari. "H-Hokage-sama, I want to be assigned as a student to Katsumi-sensei." "Damn it Inari, I told you not to call me that!" Sarutobi chuckled slightly. "And how would you rank his skill, oh wise sensei?" He asked Katsumi. He growled jokingly. "I would say that he's about mid-genin level. Zabuza gave him basic training before he was captured. And I trained him in the way back. He's a very quick learner. But can a genin be assigned to another genin?" Sarutobi smiled. "As you said, I am the only authority in this village. What I say goes." "Thank you, Hokage-sama." "Oh, and Katsumi?" "Yes?" "How much training have you done under Yin Kyuubi?" Katsumi smiled. "Oh, a few years worth." Sarutobi dropped the pipe he was holding. "How strong are you?" Ino laughed at that. "Hokage-sama, he defeated an A rank ninja, even if he had to use the fox's chakra to do it. He wields the Kubikiribocho like a master, uses genjutsu like a ninja uses kunai, is amazing with fire manipulation, and has good taijutsu. I'd say he's high chunin low jonin level. He HAS been taught by the most powerful being in existence." Katsumi gave a wry smile. "Kyuubi says that I still need to train much, much more before I can fight like the ninja of old, such as Madara Uchiha. He says that the new generation ninja are nothing compared to the old." Inari rolled his eyes. "You're still pretty darn strong." Katsumi looked at Inari. "If Naruto's Yang Kyuubi was like mine, he would be as strong as me." Sarutobi recovered from his shock. "Kurenai, enter." He said. Kurenai entered the room. "Nominate your team for the chunin exams." "I was planning on doing that eventually. I heard the other teams have done so already. I, Kurenai Yuhi, sensei of team 8, nominate my genin squad for the chunin exams. I take it Katsumi is going to refuse a field promotion?" "Yeah, I am." "And Inari is assigned as his student?" "Yes, he is." "The council..." "Screw the council." "Um...alright then." Katsumi spoke up. "Hokage-sama, if we are excused, we need to go find Haku and Naruto. She left a long time ago." "Very well then Katsumi. Report to Training Ground 8 for your chunin exam forms. Dismissed."

Katsumi headed straight for the Namikaze estate, along with Inari and Ino. A crowd was gathered outside. "The demon desecrates the Fourth's property!" "Kill the demon and the girl!" "How dare you show you face here, demon!" Shouts rang in the area. Katsumi flared with anger. His killing intent was intense. The civilians gathered around buckled. He kicked them out of the way. Naruto and Haku were surrounded by shadow clones. Civilians were destroying clones, intent on getting to the two. Naruto had clearly stopped Haku from killing them all. Katsumi was going to give them no such favours. "BACK OFF! OR THERE WON'T EVEN BE BONES LEFT OF YOU!" He shouted. Inari looked frightened. "I've never seen him like this." Ino looked grimly around. "Pray you never will." A group of civilians approached them. "Leave this place or you will suffer the same fate as the demons." Ino laughed, and formed hand seals, slamming her hand on the ground. "Lighting style: Paralyzing Burst!" A burst of lightning streaked across the ground, paralyzing all civilians who had approached them.

Katsumi meanwhile kicked aside civilians as he went towards Naruto and Haku. He said to them "Come on, let's go. We will get our rights when the Hokage makes his announcement." "You dare speak of the Hokage demo..." A fireball incinerated the speaker. "I will take no more shit from this village." Katsumi snarled. "You dare..." Another villager spoke up. His head flew off as Katsumi attacked with the Kubikiribocho. "Shut up! You have insulted and beaten up me and my brother for so many years, now I've had it!" A ninja among the crowd charged at him. "Die!" _Shink._ The Kubikiribocho sliced through the ninja's sword and cut him in half. Katsumi sheathed the blade, and raised his right hand after forming seals. A ball of flame formed in his hand and grew to a big size. "Fire style: Flame ball!" He snarled at the villagers. "Back off. NOW!" Many civilians ran away. A few remained, along with some ninja. Suddenly, the Hokage appeared with an ANBU squad. "Stand down, Katsumi." The ball of flame disappeared. Katsumi turned to the Hokage. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama. " A civilian spoke up. "Hokage-sama, kill the demon now! You've seen what he did!" The Hokage glared at him. "ANBU, arrest everyone in that group. The ninja are sentenced to death for crimes against the last of the Namikaze and Uzumaki clans, and for attacking the progeny of the Fourth." He looked at Katsumi. "The announcement has been made." He snorted. "So quickly?" He replied "I had a shadow clone do the announcement. It just concluded. Villager reactions are mixed. Starting today, your life should change for the better, I hope." Katsumi smiled. "Ino-chan, go home. Your parents must be worried about you by now." The Hokage opened the gates of the Namikaze estate, as Ino left. "This is your home now. Katsumi, you have gained the Namikaze clan seat on the council. You are the new head of the Namikaze clan. As for those villagers, they attacked a clan head and his brother. They were going to be executed anyway. The council has called a meeting tomorrow at 8 a.m. I will see you there." He left. Katsumi smiled. "Haku, take that house at the right corner. Inari, you can have the house at the right corner." Inari and Haku gasped. "Katsumi-san, we cannot accept this, this is..." "You two have nowhere to live, and I'll be damned if you have to live in among the villagers. Go on, shoo." He said, laughing. He turned to Naruto, whose eyes were shining with happiness. "Let's go Naruto; we have a long day tomorrow. Imagine that, a Genin and a clan head already." He chuckled as they entered their new home.

**A/N: That's it for the latest chapter. It's a bit shorter than most, but I was short of time. Anyway, updates may become irregular, as it is my last year in college, and I have to spend more time studying. I'll try to keep on updating every weekend, though. So, read PLEASE review. The lack of reviews beyond chapter 3 is unnerving. Until next time then.**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi guys, what's up? I'm back with another update. I finally got a review on my last chapter, so thank you xxdragonkingxx, and as for your two questions, yes Katsumi's Kyuubi will help Naruto with his Kyuubi, but I haven't figured out how to go about that yet. And as for Jiraiya, he will be important later on in the story. Now, onto the chapter!  
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Location: Namikaze Estate

Katsumi woke up to the sound of birds chirping, outside his window. He got up, and wondered for a moment where he was. _"Oh, right, I'm in...my old house." _He sat there for a few minutes, recalling all his memories of the house, most of which were bad. _"Kaasan, tousan, why did you have to leave?" _He suddenly remembered he had a meeting at the council.

Creating a shadow clone, he got dressed and ran off. An hour later, Naruto woke up. He yawned, and remembered he was in his father's estate. His father, the Fourth. Naruto went to check what he could eat. "_Instant ramen, perfect." _A Katsumi clone came downstairs. "Naruto, boss has gone to the council meeting he had. He told you to go ahead and get the chunin exams registration forms. Naruto smiled. _"I forgot, niisan is the Namikaze clan head!" _He nodded, and, after eating a few dozen cups of instant ramen, left for Training Ground 8.

Location: Konoha Council Chamber

Katsumi walked into the chamber, ignoring the shouts of surprise from the civilians, and went to take his seat at the Namikaze allocated seat. A civilian immediately shouted "How dare you come in here and sit in the Fourth's seat? You may have made everyone else believe that you are the Fourth's son, but I..." An ANBU had his tanto at the speaker's throat. The Hokage's killing intent filled the room. "No one will speak like that to Katsumi Namikaze; otherwise I will have you thrown into the ANBU cells." Danzo narrowed his eye. "You protect him too much, Hokage-sama." In a flash, Katsumi was holding the Kubikiribocho (**A/N:I'll call it Kubikiri from now on.)** at Danzo's throat. "Shut up, Danzo. You have no right to comment on what Hokage-sama does or does not do. Your own activities are ignored, so I suggest you mind your own business." He whispered the last part. Danzo was seething with fury. "You dare..." The Kubikiri glowed red, and Danzo felt his skin being burned. " . Don't threaten me, I have been trained by a person who could defeat Madara Uchiha, and seeing as how weak ninja have become nowadays, according to her, I would have no problem dealing with you." Danzo forced himself to calm down. "I...apologize, Namikaze-sama." Katsumi withdrew the Kubikiri, and sheathed it, returning to his seat. _"That was close." __**"Yes, kit, that was. You know you wouldn't have a hard time defeating him, I sense the sharingan on that fool, but he can barely use it." **__"Sharingan? Maybe I should find Itachi Uchiha and let him know. We all know how much he loves sharingan possessors." _Kyuubi chuckled. _"By the way, Kyuubi, do you have a real name? As a whole being I doubt you would need one, but seeing as how your manifestation here is female, and Naruto's is male, you would need something to call yourself." __**"Hmm...let's go with...Naomi?" **__"Seriously?" __**"You wanted a name, you got it." **__"Oh, fine whatever." _The entire conversation had taken place in the time it had taken for Katsumi to walk back to his seat. He spoke up "Hokage-sama, what is this session about?" Sarutobi grimaced. "The council called it. Said they wanted to discuss things with you." Katsumi glared at them. "Discuss, eh? Why now? Because you know I can use enough power to wipe all of you out? Because after years of disrespecting tousan's wish, you suddenly want to make everything better, knowing I'm his son? Had I still been an unknown orphan, would you have done this?" All the clan heads present lowered their heads in shame. A civilian, however, spoke out. "Demon brat, you should be..." Inoichi Yamanaka looked at he man, and said "Mind Destruction Technique!" The civilian screamed in pain, then fell to the floor. "Do not speak about him like that." He snarled. Shikaku Nara looked at him. "You seem to be fond of him." "He's precious to my daughter, and as such, he is also important to me." Choza Akimichi sighed. "Unless the civilians keep their mouths shut, there will have to be new elections for the civilian council." This conversation was only heard by the clan heads and the Hokage, and they all agreed with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Homura spoke up. "We apologize for..." "Apologies will solve NOTHING!" Katsumi snarled. "Get to the point or I will leave!" Koharu sighed. "Namikaze-sama, you are well aware of the fact that you and your brother are the last of the Namikaze and probably the last of the Uzumaki clans. The Namikaze were known for their very fast healing ability, as well as their tendency to learn new jutsu very fast. There are even rumours of a Dojutsu existing in the Namikaze clan. The Uzumaki were known for their mastery of seals, as well as their..." "The point?" "Sorry, Namikaze-sama. We wanted to tell you about the CRA, Clan Restoration Act, implemented upon those clans which are close to extinction, such as the Namikaze, Uchiha and Uzumaki clans." "I already know about it. A little fox told me." _**"Little? I'll show you little..." **__"Oh please, your human form is tiny compared to your full size. And you told me that in your human form." _"Um...very well then, Namikaze-sama. About the implementation..." "No." The clan heads and the Hokage smiled. The civilians didn't. Danzo spoke up. "I'm afraid this isn't up for debate, Nami..." Katsumi looked at him, and put him in a Genjutsu. Danzo's eyes went blank. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO DANZO-SAMA?!" The civilians roared. "He's currently being devoured by members of the Uchiha clan, but let's not go there." Danzo screamed. Katsumi sighed. "Hokage-sama, if you please?" "ANBU, remove Danzo from the chamber." Katsumi looked around at the councillors. "Anything else?" "Yes, Namikaze-sama." Hiashi Hyuuga spoke up. He owed Katsumi and Naruto a lot for helping his daughter overcome her shyness, and she looked up to them as brothers. "The other clan heads and I feel that if you wish, you can be promoted to jonin, due to your status as clan head, and because of the fact that you defeated and captured an A rank missing Nin, and rescued your entire team, on the same mission. Also due to the fact that we know who you have been trained by, and we have no problems with it." "I am thankful for your offer, Hiashi-sama, but I must decline. I would rather climb the Ninja ranks the proper way." A fat civilian spoke up. "Who have you been trained by? We must find that person and convince him to join us." "How do you know it's a him?" "Obviously someone with that power must be a male." Katsumi glared at the man. "I know that she is a female, and if she were here and was able to, she would roast you like the pig that you are." _**"Oh no, I would do much worse, Katsumi-kun." **__"Kun?" __**"A slip of the tongue, kit, nothing more." **__"I'm already taken, you know." __**"Trust me; Ino wouldn't mind sharing you with only one other person." **_She projected an image into Katsumi's mind that immediately had him blushing. Luckily, all the councillors present attributed it to his rage at having his teacher insulted by a civilian. _"Damn it Naomi, keep your teasing to yourself for now! Ero-fox!" _Naomi laughed inside his mind, and Katsumi cut the connection. He looked up, blush subsiding. "Anything else? Or can I go back to my team?" "There's the matter of taking Inari as your student, but as clan head, that's entirely your choice." Sarutobi spoke up. "This meeting is dismissed."

Location: Training Ground 8

Naruto had arrived at Training Ground 8 shortly after the meeting had begun in the council chambers. He had woken up Inari and Haku, who were going to have their Ninja Ranking test so that they could be accepted as Konoha Ninja, and sent a shadow clone with them to ensure no one harmed them on the way. He had arrived early, so he decided to practice his wind jutsus. By the time Ino and Kurenai arrived, the training ground was littered with broken branches and destroyed trees. "Um...what happened? And where's Katsumi-kun?" Ino asked. Naruto got up, panting slightly. "I was just practicing a new jutsu, and niisan is at a council meeting. He's been appointed as the Namikaze clan head. Ino looked amazed. "Wow, that's amazing." Kurenai smiled. "He will be promoted to jonin, I suppose..." "No." Naruto said. "Why not? You've seen what he can do." "He will decline the promotion, and if he accepts it, he will make sure we are also promoted to chunin without giving the exam." Suddenly Ino felt a chill. _"Why do I have the feeling someone close to me will ask me a very awkward question?" _"Ino? You okay?" "Yeah, sorry. Just felt a little cold suddenly." Kurenai took out three forms. "Anyway, these are application forms for the chunin exams. If Katsumi would just show up..." "Yo!" Katsumi jumped into the clearing. "Sorry I'm late." Kurenai rolled her eyes. "The number of timed I've heard that...how many are dead?" "One dead, one locked in a Genjutsu where the Uchiha are eating him alive, a few others may be in ANBU cells by now." "You have an amazing way with people, Katsumi-kun." "And you know it." He grinned at her. Then he was reminded of the image Naomi had sent him, and blushed furiously, then randomly shot a fire jutsu at a tree, to distract himself. "Sorry, just had a sudden urge to do that." _**"Oh you had a sudden urge aright, but I know what it was really for, Ka-tsu-mi-kun." **_Naomi stretched his name out, and Katsumi felt his cheeks heating up again. "Shut up ero-fox" he muttered. "Katsumi, you don't look too well." Kurenai spoke up. "Just feel like hitting foxes for some odd reason. Being in that chamber with those simple minded civilians affects your mind." _**"Oh, do hit me, Ka-tsu-mi-kun." **_Katsumi cut the connection, before something else happened. Ino looked at him as if he were crazy. "And the CRA?" She asked. "I declined, and put the guy who protested into everyone's favourite genjutsu. Why? Little Ino-chan wouldn't want to share, now would she?" Ino blushed, but replied. "With one girl, and she had better earn it." "...you're kidding, right?" Ino collapsed, and he suddenly went into his mindscape, and saw Ino already there, talking with Naomi. "Oh shit." Katsumi swore, and jumped out of his mindscape. "Ino? Are you okay? Naruto, call a medic Nin..." "No need, Kurenai sensei." Katsumi sighed. "She's busy making my life her fantasy." Naruto looked confused. "Huh?" Kurenai understood, and smirked. "Well, Katsumi, you didn't need the CRA after all, did you?" Katsumi groaned. "Not you too, sensei." Then Ino stood up, and ran to Katsumi and kissed him. It's been settled, Ka-tsu-mi-kun." She whispered in his ear. Katsumi blushed, sighed and knew that life was going to get a lot more interesting, if that was the right word. Kurenai cleared her throat. "If you two are done, here are the forms for the chunin exam. They begin in two weeks. Fill them out and return them to me by the end of the week." Each of them took the forms, and Kurenai dismissed them. _"If those three don't become chunin, I will personally skin the judges." _She thought.

Location: Namikaze Estate

Team 8 finished filling out their forms, and just hung around waiting for Inari and Haku to return. Well, Naruto hung around. Ino, Naomi and Katsumi had gone to an Akimichi restaurant. He chuckled, remembering how Katsumi had given Naomi a body, after explaining to him who she was.

_Flashback  
Katsumi formed shadow clone after shadow clone, experimenting with something. "Damn it, I need to make this work otherwise Naomi will never let me hear the end of it. Wait..." His chakra surged as his eyes turned violet. Ino looked at him confused. The next shadow clone poofed into existence. The smoke cleared, and they all saw a beautiful, red haired girl, with a petite figure, who was around Katsumi's age. Katsumi sighed. "Naruto, meet Naomi. Naomi, Naruto. Ino and you have met each other already. Naomi jumped on Katsumi. "Took you long enough, Namikaze-sama" she whispered in his ear. Katsumi blushed fiercely and got up, pushing off Naomi. Naruto looked at Ino. "Aren't you mad?" Ino smiled deviously. "We worked something out. Now, Katsumi, Naomi and I had a little chat, and we decided that whenever you let her out for the first time, you would take us both on a date."_  
_Flashback End_

Katsumi had been unable to win the following argument and now the two had been gone for a few hours. It was night by now, and Haku and Inari finally came back. "So guys, how did it go?" Haku smiled. "I am a chunin, ranked B." Inari said. "Genin, rank C, apprenticed to Katsumi Namikaze." By this time, Katsumi came back, having dropped off Ino, and brought Naomi back inside. "Not a word. Inari, training is postponed for now; we need to prepare for the chunin exams. Use the training field as much as possible, and your house has a jutsu library, as well as earth scrolls for your affinity. I'm going to sleep." He walked off. "How'd it go niisan?" Naruto asked. Katsumi blushed and sped off. They submitted the forms the next day, and, soon enough, the day of the exams had arrived. One thing Katsumi noted was the high number of Iwa participants.

_**A/N: Aaaand cut! I'm happy to see my typing speed is increasing with every chapter. The final pairings have been decided and Katsumi will be with Ino and Fem. Kyuubi. Naruto will be with Fem. Haku.. Some of you may not agree, so leave your opinion in reviews**____**. And I doubt there will be lemons, as I'm not comfortable writing them. Anyway, next time we have the Chunin Exams starting, and the rest of the Genin will FINALLY appear. Anyway, read and review, please. The fuel for fanfic writers is reviews. Oh, and if any of my readers is good at drawing, can you make a picture of team 8? Until next time.**_


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hi guys, what's up? In this chapter the Chunin Exams begin. The number of favourites and follows has finally reached double digits, but the reviews are still low in number, so readers please review. Oh, and after this chapter, I won't update for a while, due to family and college reasons. Anyway, not much to write here, so on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

Location: Chunin Exam Building

Katsumi waited outside the building along with the rest of the Konoha genin. They had been standing out here for more than an hour now. Near them, he could hear Chouji munching on his chips. _"Maybe I should ask him if he has an extra pack." __**"No, Katsumi-kun, Akimichi are as protective of their food as a parent would be of their child." **_He sighed. Naruto was impatiently tapping his foot on the ground. Ino was fiddling with her senbon. He looked around. Sakura looking at Sasuke, Kiba complaining loudly, Shikamaru sleeping, Hinata reading something, Shino and his two teammates, Sato Kagome and Menma Hayate, just standing still in one place, another team with a weird person wearing a green spandex, who was doing pushups, a Hyuuga, who was looking around arrogantly, and a pretty girl with brown eyes who was busy writing seals. _"Which reminds me, Naomi-chan, how much do you know about Fuinjutsu? __**"A hell of a lot more than many ninja today who call themselves seal masters." **__"Right then, after these exams we'll work on Fuinjutsu." _He looked around some more. Then he noticed that Sasuke looked troubled for some reason. Other than the fact that Sakura was ogling him. "I wonder..." He turned to Ino. "Hey, Ino-chan, do you have any idea how much longer we'll be here?" "Dad said they could make us wait for as long as..." The door to the building opened. "Never mind. Let's go. Maybe next year Inari can enter these exams." Ino snorted. "Haku is one of the toughest teachers I have ever seen. Inari could be chunin in a week." They found the stairs and ascended to the second floor. Then again. And again. Katsumi hit his head as he realized it. "Damn it, we're in a Genjutsu. How come I didn't notice this?" He dispelled it. Then he saw the stairs leading to the third floor flanked by Izuno and Kotetsu. "What are they doing here?" He noticed that Sasuke had also dispelled the Genjutsu and was walking towards the stairs. Ino said "I wonder why he isn't shouting out his 'superiority'?" Naruto looked thoughtful. "He WAS looking troubled earlier on. You think something happened Katsumi niisan?" Katsumi watched as Izuno and Kotetsu stopped Sasuke from entering. Sakura screamed at them for daring to stop her Sasuke-kun. Kiba asked them to get out of the way. "They don't recognize them. Why is that? Another Genjutsu that I already broke? Hmm? Did you say something, Naruto?" Naruto repeated his question. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Once this test is over we can go talk to him about. Ok, I can go talk to him. Sakura is a health risk I don't want you two exposed to." He said. Meanwhile, the spandex clad ninja from earlier appeared out of nowhere and kicked the chunin on their heads. He proclaimed loudly. "Sasuke Uchiha. I challenge you to a fight!" Sasuke glared at him. "It's common courtesy to give your name first." "I am Rock Lee, the handsome devil of the Leaf Village!" "We will fight later. This is not the place to do so." Every Leaf genin's mouth fell open in shock. Sasuke refusing a fight? Was the world ending? Rock Lee was seemingly satisfied. "YOSH! We shall fan our flames of Youth later then." He turned to Sakura. "I will see you later, my beloved Sakura-chan!" His team members caught up, the Hyuuga and the brown eyed girl. The Hyuuga spoke up, with an arrogant attitude that made Katsumi want to hit him. "A fight between losers is not worth holding." Sasuke bristled at this, but walked through the door, followed by the other Genin. Katsumi ran a hand through his hair. "This will definitely be..." "Interesting." Ino finished for him. They emerged into a room filled with other competitors. Naruto whistled. "Those are a lot of ninja." Katsumi noticed that there were a lot of ninja from Iwa. "_Lemme guess, they are here to kill us and avenge their honour?" __**"You got it, Katsumi-kun." **_One Iwa team came up to him. "You, are you Katsumi Namikaze?" Katsumi looked at him, bored. "Yeah I am. Here to avenge your honour, I suppose?" The Iwa genin snarled. "You will die before this exam ends, Namikaze. You and your brother." Katsumi sighed. He slowly reached towards his back, as if to scratch, and then quickly slammed the flat end of the Kubikiri into the Genin, sending him flying into a wall. "Tell me that AFTER you get ranked as an A Rank ninja." He glared at the other Iwa teams. "Who's next?" Two more teams rushed him. Ino shot senbon at two genin, hitting their pressure points and disabling them. Naruto charged at two genin, forming a shadow clone, and knocked out the genin. Katsumi just hit the remaining two with the flat side of the Kubikiri again. "You're many years too early to be challenging us." He said bored. The other teams present had mixed reaction. Some looked scared, some indifferent and some excited. Then a genin with spectacles and silver hair came up to the Leaf genin. "If you're going to cause this much havoc everywhere you go, then these exams should be exciting." Katsumi looked at him suspiciously. "Who are you?" Hinata moved to Ino. "Something about that guy rubs me the wrong way." She said. Ino frowned. "Really? He seems alright, he IS a Leaf ninja after all." "Can you get a scan of his mind?" "It's that bad in your opinion? I can't without him knowing, maybe later." Meanwhile, the newcomer had introduced himself. "I've given these exams seven times." Now even Naruto was suspicious. "Seven? You must really suck." Kiba laughed. The brown eyed girl from earlier said "Or it could mean he has a lot of info." Sasuke looked at her. "Say, what's your name?" The girl smiled at him. "Tenten, nice to meet you, Sasuke." Sakura immediately went up to Tenten. "Sasuke-kun is mine, you stay away from him!" Tenten frowned at her. "Even if I was after him, I could defeat you with my eyes closed. I can tell that your ninja skills are the lowest among all of us. Don't threaten me." Sakura made an angry noise and stomped back to Sasuke's side, who rolled his eyes. He turned to Kabuto. "So you have information in the competitors?" "That's right. Who do you want to know about?" "Katsumi Namikaze and Rock lee of the Leaf." Kabuto pulled out some cards and channelled chakra into them. "Katsumi Namikaze, ranked, wow, A- rank. I've never heard of a genin with an A rank before. Has completed 35 D rank missions, and 6 C rank, along with one C turned A rank mission. Is highly skilled in Kenjutsu and Ninjutsu, and almost unrivalled in Genjutsu. Good at Taijutsu. And...Wow... He is the current head of the Namikaze clan." Sakura screeched "WHAT! How come that weak idiot is a clan head..." Sasuke shouted "SHUT UP YOU WORTHLESS FOOL! HE EVERYONE HERE IS A FAR SUPERIOR NINJA TO YOU, AND HE IS ON A LEVEL BEYOND OURS! I swear to Kami, if you get us disqualified, I will get you removed from our team!" Katsumi knew now that Sasuke had definitely undergone a drastic change. He also saw that all the other teams were looking at him. Sakura had gone quiet. He went over to Sasuke. "Alright, Sasuke, spill it. Why are you not acting like a spoilt prince?" Sasuke looked at him. "Many things. Among others, the Hokage had a talk with me, and I found a letter hidden in the Uchiha compound. It was from Itachi. It contained the true reason for his actions against the clan." Katsumi sighed. He had been told of the real reason behind the Uchiha massacre, mainly because he wanted to rid the council of Danzo, and needed proof in case he was caught afterwards. Danzo was too dangerous to Konoha to be left alive, not to mention the fact that Naomi thought he was in cahoots with Orochimaru. Sasuke sighed as well. "So you know. I decided to change myself, so that my clan would have a new beginning, if I survive to the age of marriage." Katsumi smirked. "So now we only have to worry about one pompous clan instead of two." _"Sasuke could be a useful ally in what I have planned. For once, attacking Root seems easier." __**"He will need to be trained a lot for that. He is currently too weak to fight against Root." **__"I'll talk to Kakashi about giving him high level training. I'm more worried about the repercussions that would emerge." _The door opened and suddenly chairs and desks appeared in the room. A man walked into the room. "Alright, maggots, settle down! Get into a chair, no sitting with team members." Everyone obeyed him. By now the Iwa genin were conscious again. "The first part of the exam will be a written test." "WHAT?!" Naruto and Kiba shouted. "QUIET! My name is Ibiki Morino. The first part of the exam will be a written test." Another chunin appeared and started handing out question papers. "You have nine questions on the test. The tenth question will be asked at the end. If you are caught cheating, you and all your team will be disqualified. Begin!" Katsumi found that he was sitting next to Sasuke. They looked down at their papers, looked at each other, and knew that neither had any idea how to answer the questions. Sasuke activated his Sharingan, to which Katsumi raised an eyebrow. He had probably activated it on learning of the truth about Itachi. Katsumi looked in front of him. It was Sakura, and she knew all the answers. Sasuke smirked and copied the answers with his sharingan. When he was done, Katsumi sent a tiny fireball at Sakura, lighting her hair. She proceeded to go into a frenzy, and in the ensuing chaos Katsumi copied the answers. He and Sasuke looked at each other, and a silent acknowledgment passed between them. By now quite a few teams had been disqualified. Ibiki then told everyone to put down there pens. "The tenth question will be difficult. Therefore, I give you a choice. If you choose to answer it, but get it wrong, you and your will be stripped of your ninja rank and sent back to the academy. If you choose not to answer it, you can leave and remain genin for the rest of your life. My proctorship, my rules." After a few teams left, Naruto stood up. "So what if we get sent back to the academy? We'll graduate again! And there's no point in becoming a ninja if you can't take risks!" After this announcement, no one left. Ibiki smiled. "Good job. You all pass." Before he could explain why, the window crashed and a woman flew into the room. She straightened up, and looked around. Ibiki sweatdropped. "You're early, Anko." Anko smiled. "This many teams, Ibiki? You must be losing your touch. All right, maggots, haul your asses to The Forest of Death's gate! The second stage of the exams will be held there!" She jumped back out the window. Everyone present sweatdropped.

Location: Forest Of Death Gate

The teams gathered around Anko. She explained the second exam. "So, to summarize, get a scroll from me, either heaven or earth. Get in there, find a team with the opposite scroll, get it, then get to the tower. You have five days." Ino went to collect the scroll. She came back with a heaven scroll. Sasuke's team got heaven, Hinata's team got earth, Lee's team got earth, Shino's team got heaven. The gates opened. "Now then, get in there. And remember, killing is allowed. The animals in there are also your source of food, but you're also their source of food, so it's a question of who gets who first." Chouji paled at this. "I knew I should have packed more chips!" Then a very disturbing noise came from somewhere within the Forest. Almost all the genin present paled considerably. Anko smiled. "Well, of you go then and happy hunting!" Katsumi, Ino and Naruto went into the Forest, took to the trees, and set out in search of the earth scroll.

**A/N: Well, there you have it! The first test, done, and the second test has begun! Katsumi and Sarutobi know of the existence of Root, and Sarutobi has decided that that Katsumi should organize a strike force against them and Danzo. After all, he's only a cripple leading an army of emotionless slaves, right? Sasuke is no longer an avenger. What do you think of it? Read and review, and remember, I won't update for a while. Until next time!**


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